Police arrest security guard, others over killing of abducted former EKSU DVC

The police in EKITI State have arrested a security guard over the abduction and killing of Prof. Olorunfemi Olaofe, the former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti (EKSU) .

The 79-year-old don was kidnapped by unknown gunmen at his residence in a housing estate along Afao Road, Ado Ekiti, on July 9, 2024. The kidnappers, sources said, had earlier contacted the family of the late professor a few days after he was abducted, demanding N50 million ransom.

He spent three weeks in the den of the kidnappers, after which his dead body was reportedly discovered by security forces combing the bush around the Ekiti International Cargo Airport.

Confirming the development, Ekiti State Commissioner of Police Adeniran Akinwale said the security man, employed by the late professor, was arrested alongside other accomplices. He stressed that the deceased’s body had been found while plans were ongoing to prepare him for burial.

“Yes, the professor has been found dead, and we are doing everything possible to exhume the body for burial.

“However, we have arrested so many people. And you know the circumstances surrounding the incident. We suspected an insider’s work wherein the security man employed by the professor was the one who planned it.

“They (abductors) kidnapped the man alongside so that we will not suspect anything. In the process of rescuing him, we arrested some people. I can’t say much about the security guard, but at the appropriate time, we will brief the public,” he said.

Meanwhile, the president of the late professor’s town union, the Are-Ekiti Progressive Union, Prof. Olufemi Oke, said: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the untimely death of our community leader.

“The information was given to the executive of the Are-Ekiti Progressive Union today in our meeting with the government’s security agents. His remains were found in a shallow grave along Airport Road.

“This is a great loss to Are-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria and the global academic community