Gunmen Storm Farm, Shoot Council Boss and Abduct Him Near Akure Airport

Just five kilometers from the Akure Airport, a daring and bloody abduction has sent shockwaves through Ondo State. In a brazen daylight raid, heavily armed gunmen have kidnapped Joseph Aladesuyi, the Secretary of the Okeluju Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and Managing Director of Jotina Farms, along with two others.

The attack occurred around 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 9, 2026, at Aladesuyi’s farm in the Kajola area of Ilu-Abo—a community already reeling from a string of recent kidnappings and killings.

According to family sources, the scene was nothing short of a nightmare. Aladesuyi had arrived at the farm just an hour earlier with his daughter when approximately ten gunmen emerged from the bush, firing sporadically to announce their arrival.

In a chilling display of violence, the attackers shot the Council boss in the hand as they overpowered him.

“They dragged him away, and in the process, one of them shot him in the hand,” a family source revealed. “They left his daughter unharmed but warned her specifically that they were taking her father.”

The sound of high-caliber gunfire so close to the Akure Airport triggered an immediate exodus. Parents were seen rushing to local schools to withdraw their children, fearing a wider coordinated attack.

While the daughter was spared, the gunmen vanished into the dense forest with Aladesuyi and two other unidentified victims. As of Monday evening, no ransom demand has been made.

This high-profile abduction comes at a sensitive time for the state government. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa recently reassured the public that no bandits or terrorists have operated in Ondo State since the 2022 Owo massacre. However, this latest attack near the state’s capital and its airport suggests a security gap that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.