Ibukun Otesile, daughter of Olalekan Babatunde, the founder and general overseer of Jesus Is King Ministries, in Ibadan, Oyo State, was kidnapped outside her home on Thursday evening.
The church community has thus far received no help from the police, consequently resorting to “prayer, prayer, prayer”.
Olamide Olanrewaju, personal assistant to Joshua Sola Akinyemiju, the outgoing chairman of the Oyo State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), confirmed the kidnap to SOJ WORLDWIDE this Friday afternoon.
He stated that Otesile was kidnapped in front of her home at General Gas, within Akobo area of the state around 8 pm on Thursday, but CAN was alerted to it around 8:45 pm.
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“We all have a WhatsApp group, which the father is also a member of. So the CAN Chairman posted it as a distress call, saying that the daughter of Reverend and Dr. Lekan Babatunde had been kidnapped,” Olanrewaju told SOJ WORLDWIDE on Friday afternoon.
“You know, everyone in the group became worried and started saying, ‘Prayer, prayer, prayer.’ Religious leaders and everyone else were praying.
“I said prayer is good, but we also need to do the right thing. On the same group, I tagged Rev Moses, the Chaplain of the Police Force Headquarters in Oyo State before putting out the alert.
“I learned she was kidnapped at the gate in front of her house at General Gas. Only God knows what she was doing there, where she went, or who she was with.”
According to CAN Oyo State, the Otesile is the mother of two children.
“The daughter of our beloved Reverend Dr. Lekan Babatunde, was kidnapped this night Thursday, December 4 around 8:00Pm, Ibukun Otesile, the mother of two, was kidnapped in front of her gate at General Gas, Akobo,” the alert CAN shared on its page reads.
As of press time, SOJ WORLDWIDE has not been able to establish the identity of the abductors or if they have established contact with the family.
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Insecurity in Nigeria has recently been gaining global traction, with the United States government announcing on Wednesday that it would be imposing visa ban on anyone considered responsible for the attack on Christians in Nigeria.
On Friday, SOJ WORLDWIDE called the phone number found on the ministry’s Facebook page for further comments on the abduction but three calls made to them were unanswered. A WhatsApp message sent has also not been responded to.
SOJ WORLDWIDE also called Adewale Osifeso, the spokesperson of the Oyo State Police Command, for comments on the kidnappers and if they have been identified. But he asked to be texted on WhatsApp. Follow-up messages sent to him immediately haven’t received any responses either.
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