The Oyo State Police Command has dismissed as false and misleading viral reports claiming that two kidnap victims in Igbope were freed following Sunday Igboho’s ultimatum, insisting the victims remain in captivity while rescue efforts continue.
POLICE: NO, THE KIDNAP VICTIMS WEREN’T RELEASED
The celebrations may have come too early.
After videos went viral on Sunday showing jubilant crowds in Igboho, Oyo State, celebrating the reported release of a kidnapped family — following a two-hour ultimatum issued by Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Igboho — the Oyo State Police Command has stepped in with a hard correction.
According to the Command, two victims, Mrs Kuburat Omowumi and her son, abducted at Igbope on June 16, are still in captivity.
“The Command wishes to state unequivocally that the claim contained in the circulated video is false, unfounded, and misleading,” said Police Public Relations Officer DSP Olayinka Ayanlade in a statement, per Guardian and Daily Post.
The police said the viral video had created confusion at a sensitive moment, warning that circulating unverified information “could generate false narratives, create unnecessary panic, and undermine ongoing rescue operations.”
The backstory: Igboho had earlier confronted suspected Fulani community leaders over rising abductions, referencing a ransom payment that allegedly turned deadly. “The person who brought the ransom, you still killed him and spared only one person,” he said, before issuing his now-famous ultimatum: “Let this be the last time such a thing will happen.”
Videos that followed showed residents singing and dancing, widely interpreted online — and reported by some outlets — as confirmation the victims had been freed.
But police insist no official confirmation exists. They say intelligence-led operations, in collaboration with other security agencies, remain ongoing to secure the victims’ safe release and arrest those responsible.
For now, the real story is murkier than the celebrations suggested — and Mrs Omowumi and her son remain unaccounted for.
NEWS NOW:
