Police arrest three over ‘abduction’ of chief Imam in Ondo

The Ondo police command says its operatives have arrested three people for allegedly kidnapping Ibrahim Oyinlade, the chief imam of the Uso community in Owo LGA of the state.

The suspects were paraded at the command’s headquarters in Akure on Tuesday.

In June, TheCable reported that Oyinlade was abducted on his farm at Asolo camp.

The 67-year-old cleric was released the following day, and a family member said the kidnappers had demanded N10 million in ransom.

Speaking while parading the suspects, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, police spokesperson in Ondo, identified them as Muinah Mohammed (19), Aisha Bello (20) and Isah Bello (40).

The police spokesperson added that the suspects would be charged in court at the completion of the investigation.

“On the 18th of June, 2023, one Mrs Bodunde, around 6 pm went to the Uso division to complain that her husband, Alli Ibrahim Bodunde, went to the farm and he was supposed to come back around 2 pm, but unfortunately, when they did not see him they sent two persons to the farm in order to look for him,” Odunlami-Omisanya said.

“When they got to the farm, they met his car and his mobile phone, but they could not see him. And immediately the case was reported, the police swung into action and at the end of the day, the man was released.

“But in the cause of the investigation, we realised that the man in question is the Chief Imam of the Uso community, and through our intelligence team, we were able to arrest the suspects, and at the end of the investigations, the suspects will be charged to court.”