Bandits attacked the royal house of a traditional ruler, HRH Oba Simeon Olaonipekun, and abducted the monarch along with one of his offspring, Olaolu, a serving NYSC member, on Wednesday, causing tension in the Ile Ere village of Ifelodun region of Kwara State.
Around 8:30 p.m., eight gunmen allegedly broke into the palace, firing intermittently into the air and forcing their way into the inner apartments in order to abduct the king and his accompanying son.
A family source who was at the palace at the time told reporters that the attackers seemed to have come especially for the monarch and his wife, according to Vanguard.
Around 8:00 p.m., I saw some odd activity outside and I informed everyone inside. They started shooting as soon as they realized that we had started shutting doors and turning out lights, the source claimed.
He went on to say that the shooters used their weapons to smash through the palace doors and demanded to see the king.
The source claims that Olaolu, one of the monarch’s sons who is presently enrolled in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program, was also taken away after emerging from concealment.
Since we had come to spend the vacation with Kabiyesi, there were around ten of us in the palace at the time. The attack took place when everyone was sheltering. We hurried the Olori to the hospital the same evening after they left,” he added.
The Kwara State Police Command’s public relations officer, Ejire Adeyemi, did not return calls at the time this report was filed, thus attempts to elicit a response were unsuccessful.
