A 300-level Computer Engineering student from Al-Hikmah University, Igbaja in Kwara State, Akindoyo Gideon, was kidnapped while working on his father’s cassava farm in Lumeko village, Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State.
His motorcycle was found abandoned by a search team.
Gideon went to the farm on June 11, 2024, and has been missing since.
The Senate secretariat of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), in a statement signed by Henry Okunomo, called on security agencies to assist in finding Gideon.
The statement suggested that Gideon might have been abducted due to the ongoing communal conflict between the Irele and Igbobini communities.
NANS urged the leaders of both communities to locate the missing student, dead or alive.
According to the statement: “Information from the National President of Irele Local Government Students and a community leader, Dr. Adekugbe Erik, indicates that Gideon traveled home to gather foodstuffs and was abducted while working on his father’s farm.
“The community leader reported that Gideon’s disappearance coincided with an attack by the Igbobini community, which resulted in destroyed homes and properties.
“We demand that the leaders of both Irele and Igbobini communities produce the student, dead or alive, within 72 hours. Failure to do so will compel us to relocate the NANS secretariat to the affected communities, where we will remain until the student’s safe return is secured.”
Gideon’s mother, Mrs. Janet Akindoyo, voiced her distress, stating, “He has not returned. The search party found his motorcycle where he parked it, but we haven’t seen him. I’m appealing to the security agencies and the public to help find him.”
Ondo Police spokesman, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident and stated that police officers have been deployed to the forest to search for the missing student.
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