Gunmen Abduct Osun LG Vice Chairman, Military Rescues 3 in Gunfight

The Vice Chairman of Ifedayo Local Government Area of Osun State, Hon. Debo Farounbi, has been abducted by unknown gunmen following a violent attack on the Ora-Igbomina boundary community late Tuesday night.

Panic has gripped residents of Ora-Igbomina, a boundary community between Osun and Kwara States, after armed men invaded the town and abducted the Vice Chairman of the Ifedayo Local Government Area, Hon. Debo Farounbi.

The incident, which occurred at about 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, saw the gunmen shooting sporadically into the air to scare residents before storming their targets.

According to eyewitness reports, the attackers initially abducted four people, including Farounbi, another man, and two Fulani women. However, the swift intervention of military personnel and local volunteers stationed in the town prevented a mass abduction.

The security forces reportedly engaged the heavily armed invaders in a fierce gun duel. The strong resistance put up by the military forced the kidnappers to abandon three of their captives, fleeing into the surrounding bushes with only the council vice chairman.

Confirming the incident on Wednesday, the Public Relations Officer of the Osun State Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, stated that a joint security rescue operation had been activated to track down the fleeing gunmen and secure the safe release of the local government official.

“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,” Ojelabi stated. He added that the police are treating the incident as an abduction while investigations continue to ascertain the motive.

The latest attack has heightened fears among residents of Ora-Igbomina, as this marks the third major abduction in the boundary community within the last seven months.

In December 2025, a retired Customs officer, Emmanuel Owolabi, was abducted by suspected bandits in the same town and spent nearly four weeks in captivity before he was released in Kwara State following an undisclosed ransom payment. Similarly, in February 2026, armed men invaded the community through the Kwara boundary, abducting two residents who were also held for a month before regaining their freedom.

Following the persistent attacks, terrified residents are now appealing to the Osun State Government and security agencies to permanently deploy a stronger security presence to the porous boundary areas to halt the frequent incursions by bandits.