Tension enveloped the Ile Ere community of Ifelodun area of Kwara State as bandits stormed the royal palace of a traditional ruler, HRH Oba Simeon Olaonipekun and kidnapped the monarch alongside one of his children, Olaolu, a serving NYSC member on Wednesday.
Eight gunmen reportedly invaded the palace, at about 8:30pm, sporadically shooting into the air and forced their way into the inner rooms to kidnap the king and his son who was with him.
According to Vanguard, a family source who was present at the palace during the incident told journalists that the assailants appeared to have come specifically for the monarch and his wife.
“I noticed some strange movements outside around 8:00pm and immediately alerted those inside. We began locking doors and switching off lights, but once they realised this, they started shooting,” the source said.
He added that the gunmen broke down the palace doors with their weapons and demanded to see the king.
According to the source, Olaolu, one of the monarch’s sons who is currently undergoing his National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, programme, was also whisked away after coming out of hiding.
“There were about 10 of us in the palace at the time, as we had come to spend the holiday with Kabiyesi. Everyone was hiding during the attack. After they left, we rushed the Olori to the hospital that same night,” he said.
At the time of filing this report, efforts to get reaction from Kwara State Police Command was abortive as the Public Relations Officer, Ejire Adeyemi, did not answer calls put across to her.
Tension in Kwara community as bandits reportedly kidnap monarch, son
