Fear has gripped Kwara South as gunmen holding a traditional ruler, his son, and eight other residents imposed a massive N450 million ransom demand on their captors.
The abducted monarch, Oba Simeon Olaonipekun, the Oniwo of Aafin, and his son, Olaolu, a serving NYSC member, are being held for N150 million, while the kidnappers are demanding another N300 million for eight residents seized from Adanla-Irese in Ifelodun Local Government Area.
The development has renewed anxiety across communities already battling rising insecurity.
Confirming the ransom demands, the Coordinator of the Kwara South Joint Community Security Watch Network, Elder Olaitan Oyin-Zubair, said negotiations are ongoing and the kidnappers have continued to raise the stakes.
“Only two days ago, the kidnappers demanded N300 million for the release of the Adanla abductees. Today, they demanded N150 million for the monarch and his son,” he said.
The monarch was abducted on Wednesday night, December 31, 2025, after armed men stormed the royal palace in Aafin community, firing sporadically and overpowering local vigilantes.
“They broke down the doors with their guns and demanded to see the monarch and his wife,” a family source said. During the attack, the monarch’s wife, Felicia Olaonipekun, was shot in the arm and later taken to hospital.
In a related incident, suspected bandits had earlier invaded Adanla community on Friday, December 26, 2025, abducting eight residents in a late-evening raid that left the agrarian community traumatised.
As of press time, the Kwara State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement, while residents and community leaders continue to appeal for urgent intervention to secure the release of all abducted victims.
