Gunmen abduct ex-FUTA VC in Akure

FORMER Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Albert Ilemobade, has been abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers from his Ijapo Estate, Akure home and driven to an unknown destination.

The septuagenarian, who had been into private practice since his retirement from the Ivory Tower, was said to have been forcefully seized by well-dressed men who pretended to be estate agents yesterday.

The abduction of the don is the second in two weeks following the kidnap of the Executive Secretary of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Michael Adewunmi, whose family members parted with an undisclosed amount of money as ransom before he was released.

Ilemobade is currently the president and chief executive officer of Upline Resources Foundation (URF) and an expert consultant to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Spokesman of the Ondo State Police Command, Wole Ogodo, who confirmed the abduction, said that men of the command had begun search for the victim and his abductors.