By Abdulahmeed Abdulrozaq Bilal | Fact Frontier.
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Six days after two employees of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) were violently abducted from a farm along the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road, the incident has exploded into public consciousness following the company’s belated official confirmation and a deepening jurisdictional row between two state police commands. The prolonged silence of the victims in captivity, a staggering three hundred million naira ransom demand, and the impunity of the attack have combined to make the abduction the most discussed security story in the Southwest today.
The traumatic event unfolded at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, 2026, when a three-person IBEDC team was ambushed by armed gunmen at Sayeed Farms (B), a sprawling agricultural facility located in Olohunde Village, in the Ogunmakin area. The team, carrying out official duties for the power utility, was caught completely off guard. Witness accounts and police briefings indicate the attackers swiftly overpowered the staff, seizing control of their vehicle and abducting the occupants.
Those taken were driver Seun Bakare and his colleague Idris Salami. A female staff member, Bisola Owoade, was initially kidnapped alongside the two men but was dramatically released by the gunmen shortly afterward under circumstances that are still being investigated. The release of Owoade, while providing some relief to her family, has done little to calm the rising anxiety over the fate of Bakare and Salami, who have now spent nearly a week in the hands of their captors.
Unconfirmed reports that have circulated widely since the weekend indicate the kidnappers have made contact with the victims’ families and are demanding a staggering ransom of ₦300 million for their safe return. The colossal figure has sparked outrage and disbelief among the public, raising fears about the growing precedent of high-value ransom kidnappings. Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer has acknowledged the abduction but told journalists that the exact amount being demanded remains unverified. “A manhunt is ongoing, and we are working with other security agencies and local vigilantes to secure the victims’ release,” the police spokesman stated, confirming that the Commissioner of Police had personally ordered the case transferred to the elite Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS) for a swift and tactical response.
The official confirmation that ignited the trending wave came not immediately after the incident, but on Monday, May 4, when IBEDC Management issued a detailed public statement. In it, the company expressed “deep concern” and identified the victims as members of its Ogun regional operations. “The affected staff were in the Ogun region and were abducted while on official duty on the Oyo State axis of the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road,” the statement read, inadvertently highlighting a critical fault line that has since dominated public discourse. The company assured it was collaborating fully with security agencies to ensure the unconditional release of its employees.
This seemingly mundane administrative detail—the exact location of the crime—has erupted into a full-blown interstate jurisdictional dispute. While the Oyo State Police Command has taken charge of the investigation and publicly confirmed the abduction, its counterpart in Ogun State has flatly denied that any such crime occurred within its borders. The Ogun police spokesman went as far as to suggest that reporters should verify the incident in “neighboring states.” The contradictory positions have left residents of the border communities deeply unsettled, fueling a narrative of buck-passing at a time when a unified security response is desperately needed.
The one-week milestone on Tuesday, May 5, has crystallized public sympathy and turned the case into a national talking point. The “ticking clock” effect of prolonged captivity, combined with the suspicious silence of a resolution, has given the story a sense of urgency that resonates far beyond Ibadan. Social media platforms and broadcast call-in shows are inundated with demands for the Inspector General of Police to intervene and resolve the command confusion, with many arguing that criminal elements exploit such jurisdictional gaps.
As the Anti-Kidnapping Squad deploys tactical teams into the dense farmlands and forest reserves spanning the Oyo-Ogun boundary, the families of Seun Bakare and Idris Salami wait in agonizing suspense. The IBEDC staff are more than just statistics; they are symbols of the vulnerability faced by essential service workers who routinely traverse Nigeria’s increasingly dangerous rural roads. The coming days will test the resolve of the South-West security architecture, and for now, all eyes are on the manhunt, with the hope that the next update will bring the news that the two men have been rescued alive and reunited with their families.
