Why killers of Kwara monarch released me – 83-year-old victim

An 83-year-old man, Pa Adeyemi Simon Aremu, has narrated how the kidnappers who gunned down the Olukoro of Koro in Ekiti Local Government of Kwara State, General Segun Aremu (rtd), released him.

The monarch was shot dead during the invasion of his palace two days ago.

After killing the monarch, the kidnappers abducted his wife and two others.

Aremu, who was among those abducted, said they were whisked into the forest amid sporadic shooting.

Speaking on the issue, Pa Aremu, a retired pastor, said,

“I was having my dinner when suddenly six armed men entered my house and ordered me to follow them. It was while they were taking me away that they saw Olori under an Orange tree where she hid alongside a girl called Feranmi. They dragged the three of us inside the forest, shooting heavily in the process.

“It was a terrible and frightening situation for us. When I lost the energy to run, they began to drag me on the ground until we got to a spot where they ordered all of us to lie down facing the ground. Then, one of them told me to stand up and go back home. But I was afraid and my heart was literally in my mouth because I thought they would shoot me from behind while going.

“I think they saw that I was weak and my health status may cause them a setback on the way which made them release me. “It was when I got home that I saw the crowd at the palace that they had killed the monarch who was met in the pool of his blood.”

Chairman of the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) of the council, Mr Kayode Bayode, said the bandits were demanding N100m for the release of remaining captives.

In a chat with journalists, he said, “They have contacted the family to demand N100m ransom. But we are still on the issue; that’s all I can can say for now.

“Though there is still panic in the community, the heavy presence of security has helped to calm the situation”, he submitted.

The kidnappers gave the family of the late monarch 48 hours to raise the money.

Koro community in the southern part of Kwara shares a border with Ekiti State and the community where two monarchs were ambushed and killed.