Family panics as kidnappers abduct Ogun journalist

The family of a journalist and human rights activist, Oluwatosin Oshibanjo, is in a panic mood after some yet-to-be-identified persons reportedly kidnapped him in his Ijebu-Ode home in Ogun State on Tuesday.

PUNCH Metro gathered from the mother of Oluwatosin, Tokunbo Bakre, on Wednesday, that the abduction came after Tosin had intervened in a human rights violation case involving a lady and a pastor.

Bakre told our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that the said lady had accused the pastor of allegedly impregnating her and forcing her to carry out abortion several times and she had refused the last attempt to coerce her into it.

The lady was said to have been delivered of a baby which she claimed the pastor was responsible for but the pastor reportedly denied responsibility.

Bakre narrated further that Tosin had published the alleged dispute between the lady and the said pastor and made efforts to get the pastor to react to the issue.

She noted that she was informed that his son was abducted after some men swooped on him while he was in a telephone conversation with his wife and took him to an unknown destination.

Bakre said, “My son had intervened in an issue involving a lady and one pastor who also claimed to be a doctor. The lady said the pastor impregnated her several times and forced her to have abortions. She said she refused to abort the last pregnancy she had with the pastor which had created issues between her and him.

“My son published the incident on his platform. To my surprise, I was informed  that some persons had kidnapped my son while he was on a telephone conversation with his wife and I suspect his abduction was because of the issue of the lady that he intervened in.”

She added that the incident had thrown the family into a panic mood as several efforts made to locate his whereabouts had proved abortive as his mobile phone remained unreachable since his abduction.

“We have made several efforts to locate his whereabouts but he could not be reached. This has caused tension in the family because we don’t know the condition he is in at the moment and what the abductors could do to him.

“I am appealing to the authorities to help me locate and rescue my son,” Bakre said.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, proved abortive as calls and messages sent to her line were not delivered as of the time of filing this report.

However, a senior police officer privy to the incident but not authorised to speak with the media confirmed the abduction to our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Wednesday.

“Yes, I am aware of the incident. It was reported to the police but I cannot speak further on it,” the police officer said.