Kidnappers of a former deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of the University of Ibadan, Professor Adigun Agbaje, have demanded a ransom money of N50m.
The incident took place on Friday evening at Onigaari village near Sat Guru Maharaji Garden on the Lagos Ibadan expressway, very close to Ibadan.
According to a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Prof. Agbaje, who is currently on sabbatical at Olabisi Onabanjo University, was on his way to Ibadan at about 6 pm on Friday when kidnappers blocked his way.
FIJ also reported that the kidnappers “eliminated some policemen around the scene” before making away with their captives, according to a source in UI.
A police officer was killed on Friday when some unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers blocked the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The kidnappers eventually went away with Professor Adigun Agbaje, and two students of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, Ogun State, one of whom was identified as Miss Oluwatobi Orekoya.
Agbaje is a professor of Political Science and one of the UI’s most respected products. As gathered, he was, for several years, the only First-Class degree holder in the university’s department of Political Science, until the feat was matched in the 2000s by Tunde Oseni, who is now an Associate Professor at Lead City University, Ibadan.
Adigun is said to be loved by many of his students as he was brilliant as a student himself and a lover of press freedom, having supported the growth of journalism on UI campus in various capacities, including the Union of Campus Journalists.
