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Ogun CCC Shepherd narrates ‘miraculous’ escape from Fulani gunmen, says orphan still held
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Oluwaseyifunmi Oladapo, the shepherd of a Celestial Church parish in the Mowe area of Ogun State, has shared with FIJ details of his Maundy Thursday abduction and subsequent escape from armed abductors.
The kidnappers took Oladapo from the pulpit in Jehovah Shalom Parish and dragged Abiola Oluboboye, his assistant, away with them.
FIJ had reported Oladapo’s escape against police lies that he was rescued in March. He narrated an escape that he described to FIJ as miraculous on Saturday.
“They were about seven, those who came to kidnap me. I was preaching on the pulpit when the armed men entered the church that night. Four of them came into the church with three guns, blocking all three entrances. The first thing they asked for was my iPhone, even though the phone wasn’t with me at the time,” Oladapo said.
“My phone [an iPhone 14] was in my house, which I had locked up before going to church that evening. We could not get the keys on time, and the kidnappers took me and Oluboboye with them.
They threatened to shoot a church worker but did not harm anyone. Instead, they shot the roof of the church from the inside and the outside. They shot at something they thought was a CCTV camera.
“The kidnappers took us through a bushy area close to the church and we had to walk in the bush. They spoke Yoruba, Pidgin English and their own language.
I could tell that they were Fulani when they spoke their language. They spoke the Fulani Language to one another. Two of the seven armed men withdrew from the pack, leaving only five armed men escorting me and Oluboboye in the bush.
“They attacked the church around 7:30 pm. Before they went into the bush, the kidnappers pulled the shoes they wore and put on bathroom slippers.
The armed men made us walk between them. Three with guns walked ahead of us, while two with cutlasses stayed behind us. They stopped after we had trekked a reasonable distance in the bush and told me they wanted N50 million.
“I told them that I didn’t have N50 million or N30 million. They had the barrels of their guns on my neck as we negotiated. I told them that I could manage N10 million just because I wanted to stay alive. They agreed and asked us to pay an extra N5 million for Oluboboye.
I begged them that we didn’t have money and, when they said that they would shoot him right there, I told them that Oluboboye had no father or mother. We eventually settled for N13 million in ransom.
“It was God who saved me. We approached a road after walking in the bush for some time. There was a beer parlour by the side of the same road. Music came from the beer parlour, and I knew that people were there past midnight.
“As soon as the kidnappers realised that there might be people who could challenge them, they hurriedly got us back into the bush. At this point, the kidnappers did not know which path to take in the bush.
They were unfamiliar with the terrain, and I got separated from them at that point. God saved me from their clutches. I cannot explain how exactly, but it was miraculous. I was with the kidnappers till 2 am.
“I found my way back to the main road. People refused to open their doors to me; they thought I was a robber. A fourth resident heard my pleas, and I explained to them that I was kidnapped. They told me that I was in Ofada. I did not know the place, and I wasn’t familiar with the town.
All I knew was that there was a parish whose shepherd I knew of. Some residents escorted me to the town’s chief’s premises. A shepherd from a parish in the town came there to take me.
“When we returned from the town’s chief’s residence, we saw the bush path from where I had escaped. There were no security operatives present or close by, so we couldn’t immediately follow the trail to track the kidnappers. I spent the night with the shepherd in Ofada.
We called my phone and I spoke with those at home. The kidnappers called us to ask for the ransom, using Oluboboye’s phone that week. They suddenly stopped calling.
“The last time we could reach them on the phone was last Saturday. The police contacted us and promised to help with Oluboboye’s recovery. We are just praying and hoping to hear from him. His family just needs to know that he is alright.”
Suspected armed bandits have abducted the Chairman of Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Hon. Nura Umar Abdullahi, killing four persons, including two policemen and two local vigilantes who attempted to foil the attack.
A family source said the gunmen invaded the chairman’s residence and took him, his mother, wife and two children away. The source, however, said the family members were later released, while the abductors moved away with the council chairman, a health worker from the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Gusau, and a Point of Sale (POS) operator.
The bandits reportedly engaged security personnel and local vigilantes in a gun battle while making their escape, leaving several people injured by stray bullets. Among those affected was a retired treasurer of the Zamfara State Ministry of Finance and elder brother to the abducted chairman, Bello Umar Abdullahi.
The chairman’s wife said the bandits informed them that their target was only the council boss and asked the family members to return home.
“They released us at a shallow distance into the bush,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY), Northwest, Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja, said troops of the Nigerian Army successfully rescued the family members of the abducted chairman after a fierce gun battle with the bandits.
The Gombe State Police Command has handed over a Toyota Highlander to its rightful owner, Mrs. Cecilia A. Duru of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, nearly five years after the vehicle was stolen.
The SUV was presented to its owner on Friday after police concluded investigations that confirmed her ownership.
In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer in Gombe, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, said the vehicle was recovered on June 8, 2026, by operatives of the State Intelligence Department, SID, in collaboration with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC.
He said the SUV was intercepted during a routine vehicle data verification exercise at the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service Vehicle Licensing Office, where discrepancies in its registration documents raised suspicion.
According to the police, investigations revealed that the Toyota Highlander was stolen in Rivers State on September 17, 2021, before it was smuggled to the Republic of Niger in 2023.
The command said the vehicle later re-entered Nigeria through the Illela border in Sokoto State in October 2025. It was then sold in Kaduna State and eventually brought to Gombe for re-registration, leading to its recovery.
The police described the successful recovery and return of the vehicle as proof of the effectiveness of intelligence-led policing and inter-agency collaboration in combating vehicle theft and related crimes.
The command said efforts were ongoing to track down and prosecute those responsible for stealing and illegally transporting the vehicle across international borders.
It also advised prospective vehicle buyers to verify the authenticity of ownership documents before purchasing any vehicle, and urged members of the public to report suspicious transactions promptly to security agencies.
The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft, arresting a vessel allegedly involved in illegal oil bunkering and taking 12 crew members into custody during an intelligence-led operation in Akwa Ibom State.
The operation, conducted under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, saw naval personnel intercept the vessel, MT FILIA, at the UTUE Terminal while it was allegedly siphoning crude oil from an oil well terminal jacket.
Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said the successful operation followed credible intelligence generated through the Navy’s surveillance systems and continuous monitoring by its operational platforms.
He disclosed that preliminary investigations showed the vessel was carrying about 32.82 metric tonnes of fuel oil and 650 metric tonnes of crude oil without lawful authorisation or the required documentation.
According to him, the vessel, its 12 crew members and the recovered products have been taken into custody pending further investigation and possible prosecution.
Reacting to the development, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, praised the officers and ratings who carried out the operation, describing their professionalism and vigilance as commendable.
He reaffirmed the Navy’s determination to stamp out crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other maritime crimes that continue to undermine Nigeria’s economy.
The Naval Chief said Operation DELTA SENTINEL has continued to deliver measurable results through intelligence-driven operations, robust surveillance and collaboration with other security agencies and key stakeholders.
Folorunsho recalled that between April and June 2026, the Navy recovered more than 4.7 million litres of petroleum products, dismantled 58 illegal refining sites, destroyed 239 dugout pits and 13 refining ovens, and arrested 91 suspects linked to crude oil theft.
He added that the sustained operations coincided with Nigeria’s crude oil production rising to 1.89 million barrels per day in July 2026, surpassing the country’s OPEC production quota.
The Nigerian Navy assured Nigerians that it would sustain operations aimed at protecting the nation’s oil and gas assets and urged members of the public to continue providing credible information to support the fight against maritime crimes.
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