Gunmen abduct Osun LG vice chairman in Osun border community

The Osun State Police Command confirmed the incident on Wednesday, saying security operatives had launched efforts to rescue the local government official.

The police spokesperson in the state, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the attack occurred on Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m. when armed men stormed the community and abducted Mr Farounbi.

“One person was abducted. He is a local government vice chairman, Hon. Debo Farounbi. Immediately the incident happened, the military, police and others responded. Efforts are in place to rescue the man. It is abduction until we are able to prove that it is a case of kidnapping,” Mr Ojelabi said.

The police spokesperson said investigations were ongoing to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

Punch reported that residents said the attack threw the community into panic as gunmen reportedly fired shots into the air while carrying out the operation.

According to community sources, the attackers initially seized four persons, including Mr Farounbi and two women, before attempting to move them through routes leading towards neighbouring Kwara State.

However, a combined response involving security operatives and local vigilantes reportedly disrupted the operation. Residents said the intervention forced the attackers to abandon three of the captives while fleeing with the vice chairman.

“Our people did not sleep throughout the night. Everybody was afraid because of the gunshots and the abduction,” one of the residents told Punch.

The latest incident has heightened concerns over security challenges facing communities located along the Osun-Kwara boundary, where residents have repeatedly complained about attacks by kidnappers operating through forest corridors connecting both states.

Ora community has witnessed several kidnapping incidents in recent months, raising questions about the effectiveness of security measures introduced after previous attacks.

In December 2025, suspected kidnappers abducted a retired Customs officer, Emmanuel Owolabi, from the community. Residents said the victim spent several weeks in captivity before regaining freedom.

Barely two months later, suspected gunmen reportedly returned to the community and abducted two other residents in a separate attack, further heightening fears among locals.

Community leaders in the region have repeatedly called for increased security presence in the area, arguing that the town’s location near forested border routes makes it vulnerable to attacks by criminal groups.

AbdulAzeez Adewuyi, who lives in Ondo State but has relatives in Ora, told PREMIUM TIMES that the recurring incidents distressed community have forced families to reconsider living in there, with rising spectre of insecurity with adverse effects on farming, trading, other economic activities and general peaceful living.

“Some people said they can not live in those areas because of attacks on them. Some people even that lived there even moved out after simultaneous attacks early this year,” he said.

The abduction also adds to growing concerns about kidnapping and violent attacks across parts of the South-west, where criminal groups have increasingly exploited remote forests and inter-state boundaries to evade security operations. It raises fear of southward spread of the violent crimes which used to be largely confined to the northern part of the country.

Security experts have warned that communities located along state borders require stronger intelligence gathering, coordinated patrols and closer collaboration among security agencies to prevent criminal groups from establishing safe routes and hideouts.

The latest abduction comes on the heels of the15 May coordinated attacks on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area near Ogbomoso, Oyo State, during which terrorists kidnapped about 39 pupils and seven teachers and took them away into the bush. They captives have yet to te rescued or released by their abductors.

Also, last week, kidnappers abducted Busayo John-Paul, younger sister of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and her 12-year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. But the victims were rescued by the police from their captors’ hideout in a residential apartment in Ibadan three days after they were abducted.