Fear In Oyo Community As Gunmen Abduct Farmer, Police Launch Massive Forest Manhunt
Fresh concerns over the safety of farmers in rural communities have emerged in Oyo State after suspected kidnappers abducted a farmer, Owoade Mathew, triggering a massive joint security operation across surrounding forests.
Mathew reportedly left for his farm along the Igbojaye-Budo Aare Farm Road at about 4 p.m. on Saturday, 11 July 2026, but never returned home.
Alarmed by his disappearance, family members launched a search and found his Bajaj motorcycle abandoned at the farm the following morning.
The situation took a frightening turn shortly afterwards when an unidentified caller used Mathew’s mobile phone to contact his family and confirm that he had been abducted.
Following the report, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, ordered the immediate deployment of a joint rescue team comprising police operatives, Amotekun personnel, local vigilantes and hunters.
The Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad and other tactical teams have also joined the operation, intensifying the search of surrounding forests in a race to rescue the farmer and apprehend his abductors.
Police authorities have, however, dismissed reports that Mathew was kidnapped from a school premises, clarifying that he was abducted while on his farm.
The Commissioner of Police assured residents that all available operational and intelligence resources were being deployed to secure the farmer’s safe return and bring those responsible to justice.
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