The Assistant Inspector General of Police zone 11, Leye Oyebade, the Oyo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Shina Olukolu and the Garrison Commander, 2 Div Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General O.O. Soleye on Wednesday led their men to the scene of the abduction of Dayo Adewole, son of the immediate past Minister for Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole.

Dayo was on Tuesday evening abducted by four gunmen at Iroko, Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The police public relations officer in the state, Mr. Olugbenga Fadeyi who confirmed the news to our correspondent in the early hours of Wednesday, said,

“The man, Dayo Adewole was abducted by four gunmen around 6:30 p.m. at Iroko. The Area commander in Moniya and other patrol teams had been alerted and are presently giving the armed men, a hot chase”

Thereafter, the police said it had arrested three persons in connection with the abduction of the said UK-trained medical biochemist.

The three persons that were arrested included the driver that the victim employed a few days ago, Mr. Gbenga Ogunleye; the farm manager, Mr. Sodiq Adebayo, and one other worker on the farm.

Adebayo said the kidnappers were four in number and their hooded leader wore military camouflage, while three others did not cover their faces.

The farm manager said, they wore dark clothing and were armed with guns and other dangerous weapons.

The victim was said to have been taken away in his car. The car was however found about two kilometers away from the farm.

It is suspected that the younger Adewole was later taken into the thick forest, and probably transferred into another vehicle.

A combined team of security agencies and local hunters reportedly combed the forest throughout the night of Tuesday with a view to rescuing the young Adewole, but to no avail.

Commenting on the rescue efforts, AIG Oyebade, said the police have launched a manhunt for the kidnappers, as he assured members of the public that the kidnapped victim would be rescued.

Oyebade added that the police would deploy their arsenal, including STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) in the operation.

Oyebade who was flanked by CP Olukolu at the scene of the incident further told journalists that, “This incident is very unfortunate because it is coming after we have been able to map out a lot of strategies to address the challenge we are facing.

“From our inspection of the scene, interaction and interrogation of the workers, and those that were present at the scene, we can really say that the modus operandi is changing, the tactic is changing, and their way of operating is changing. Since they now know that we have been able to cover the roads, they are now coming to isolated areas, looking for targets that can be approached, having monitored them.

“With what we gathered here, the suspects covered their faces and (with) the story that we have heard, we are not ruling out the involvement of those that are very close, in this particular situation. But whatever it is, we are going to unmask those that are behind this, and that is the assurance I am giving to members of the public.

“The Inspector General of Police has given a mandate and on that mandate we stand, that kidnapping will become highly unprofitable. With the system we are going to use now, with the application of STI and with the commitment and drive of police officers that have been deployed, we are going to uproot them,” Oyebade stated.

He also enjoined all and sundry to be security conscious, adding that in recruiting staff, employers must go beyond ordinary interviews, by ensuring that the potential employees bring collateral, get their photographs and do background checks on the personalities being considered for employment, either as drivers, cooks, or gatekeepers because many of them have tendencies to give out their principals to kidnappers or armed robbers.

The victim’s father, Prof Adewole, was said to be out of the country at the time the incident occurred and he has reportedly cut short the trip.

As of the time filing this report, the police could not confirm whether the victim’s family had been contacted for ransom.

PUNCH