A Special Assistant to Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has allegedly staged his own abduction in an attempt to obtain ransom from senior government officials and other influential individuals.
The incident reportedly occurred last Monday in Ede, Osun State, where the aide, identified as Shakiru Babatunde, was said to have disappeared before allegedly initiating a ransom demand through a third party.
According to sources familiar with the incident, Babatunde allegedly contacted some senior government officials and influential individuals indirectly, claiming that he had been kidnapped and requesting that money be provided for his release.
The alleged scheme, however, reportedly unravelled after one of the senior officials approached over the purported kidnapping contacted the police and sought their intervention.
Sources said subsequent investigations led security operatives to the location where Babatunde was allegedly hiding.
He was reportedly arrested by officers attached to Dugbe Division in Osogbo, where he was allegedly questioned over the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
One source familiar with the matter said the aide allegedly confessed during questioning that the kidnapping had been staged.
“He was arrested after it was discovered that he staged his own kidnap. He was taken to the police station where he confessed to the crime,” the source said.
Another source, who claimed knowledge of the matter, alleged that efforts had subsequently been made to prevent the incident from becoming public.
According to the source, the senior government official who was initially approached over the alleged ransom demand had been making efforts to resolve the matter without public attention.
The source further alleged that officials within the police command and a senior figure in the Adeleke administration had sought to keep the incident out of the public domain because of concerns over the possible embarrassment it could cause the administration.
These allegations could not, however, be independently verified.
Police Deny Knowledge of Arrest
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Osun State Police Command, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said he was not aware of the alleged arrest.
Ojelabi reportedly said the Divisional Police Officer of Dugbe Division also denied knowledge of any such arrest.
The police position could not immediately be reconciled with the account of sources who claimed that the suspect had been arrested and taken to the division.
It was also not immediately clear whether any formal charge had been filed against Babatunde or whether the alleged investigation was still ongoing.
Who Is Shakiru Babatunde?
Babatunde, 26, is said to be a Special Assistant to Governor Ademola Adeleke and is currently undertaking his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
Sources said he was appointed as a media aide to the governor while he was still a 300-level university student.
A review of his publicly available social media activities indicates that Babatunde has maintained close ties with senior figures within the Adeleke administration.
His Facebook account, identified as Engr Shakbab, contains several posts promoting the activities of the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, as well as those of his wife, Alhaja Balkis Akinleye.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged staged abduction, the motive behind the reported ransom demand, and the current status of any police investigation remain unclear.
Further developments are expected as the circumstances surrounding the incident are clarified.
