The Onigbesi of Igbesi Land in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Moses Oyinloye Iwedunmoye I, has died days after being rescued from kidnappers who abducted him in August.
The monarch was kidnapped on August 22 when gunmen invaded the community. He was rescued five days later during a security operation around the Elerin/Ijomu-Oro axis, alongside two other victims.
The Kwara State Police Command said the rescue followed a distress report from a vigilante at about 10am at Oro Police Station that one of his men had been shot while operating in the bush around Elerin/Ijomu-Oro.
A combined team of police officers, soldiers and vigilantes was subsequently deployed to the area. The security team exchanged gunfire with the suspected kidnappers, killing one of them, while the others fled into the surrounding terrain.
The three victims were later located and rescued and taken for medical treatment.
But Oba Iwedunmoye remained in hospital following his rescue and died in the early hours of Saturday after what his family described as a brief illness.
“Yes, the news is true. He died after a brief illness following his release. We took him to the hospital, hoping he would survive, but he died there very early this morning,” his son, Prince Olasunkanmi, said.
The monarch’s death was also confirmed by the Olowa of Owa-Onire, Oba AbdulRahman Fabiyi, who expressed condolences to the family and called for stronger security measures in communities affected by kidnappings.
Fabiyi urged the Kwara State and federal governments to provide security agencies with adequate logistics, saying residents who had fled their communities needed greater confidence before returning home.
The call comes as insecurity continues to affect some communities in the state. Fabiyi, who had relocated from Owa-Onire to the Ganmo outskirts of Ilorin, said he had not fully returned to his community despite an improvement in security.
“I have not fully returned to my community; I’m just going and coming,” he said, adding that soldiers and members of the Iru Ekun Security Network were now operating in the community.
“But we want the state and federal governments to step up these logistics so that we can all be confident to fully return to our various communities,” Fabiyi said.
The national president of Omo Ibile Igbomina, Bisi Fakayode, also announced the monarch’s death on Saturday and expressed sadness over his passing.
