Oyo Woman, Son Freed After Ransom Not Gun Battle, Family Source Claims

Fresh facts have emerged over the release of an abducted woman and her two-year-old son from Oyo State, with a family source disputing earlier claims that the victims were rescued during a gun battle involving security operatives.

The source maintained that the woman and her child regained their freedom only after a ransom was paid to their abductors, insisting there was no exchange of gunfire as previously reported.

National Periscope gathered from the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, that the victims, identified as 43-year-old Adijat Kuburat and her two-year-old son, Abdul Malik Hamzat, are currently receiving medical attention and have yet to fully recover from their ordeal.

The source also disclosed that the third victim, tractor operator Adeleye Adeyemi, remains missing, with his whereabouts still unknown.

According to the source, the kidnappers released only Kuburat and her son after receiving the ransom, leaving Adeyemi behind.

“After the ransom was paid, it was only the woman and her son that were found where the kidnappers dropped them in Molete. Adeyemi was not with them,” the source said.

The source further revealed that Kuburat recounted how she, her son and Adeyemi were kept beneath a roadside culvert for five days while vehicles passed overhead.

“They stayed under a culvert close to the road for five whole days. They could hear the sound of vehicles moving above them,” the source added.

According to the account, the kidnappers later separated the captives on the fifth day.

While Adeyemi was taken to an unknown location, Kuburat and her son were moved in a different direction before eventually regaining their freedom.

“Since they separated them, she has not seen Adeyemi again and does not know where they took him,” the source stated.

The source also challenged reports that the victims were rescued after a fierce gun battle involving security operatives.

“There was no gun battle. They were neither rescued by the police nor Igboho’s team. It was after the payment of the ransom that they were released,” the source insisted.

Explaining the role played by the Iru Ekun Security Team, the source said members of the outfit only provided security cover for those involved in the ransom process.

According to the source, the kidnappers directed that only one person should deliver the ransom at the agreed location in Mokwa, Niger State.

“He only followed those who took the ransom as security cover. He was not the one who delivered the ransom because the kidnappers requested that only one person should bring the money,” the source said.

The source added that members of the security team were among those who later received Kuburat and her son after the kidnappers abandoned them in Molete, Kwara State.

The account differs from earlier statements issued by both the Nigeria Police Force and the Office of Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.

The Force Headquarters had announced on Saturday that operatives of the Force Intelligence Department-Intelligence Response Team, working with local security support groups, rescued Kuburat and her son from a forest hideout in Bode Sadu, Kwara State after kidnappers allegedly engaged the operatives in a gun battle before fleeing.

Similarly, the Office of Sunday Igboho had stated that the victims were rescued alive during an operation carried out by the Iru Ekun Security Team in collaboration with other security stakeholders in the Mokwa area of Niger State.

The statement described the operation as a successful rescue mission that ended the victims’ 18-day ordeal and reaffirmed Igboho’s commitment to supporting lawful efforts to protect lives and property across Oke-Ogun.

However, the fresh account from the family source suggests the victims were released after a ransom was paid rather than being rescued during a security operation.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Nigeria Police Force nor the Iru Ekun Security Team had responded to the family’s version of events, while concern continues to mount over the fate of Adeleye Adeyemi, who remains unaccounted for.