Olayomi Koiki
A retired Army Major, Joe Ajayi, who was kidnapped at his residence in Odo-Ape, Kabba-Bunu local government area of Kogi State a few weeks ago, has died in the kidnappers’ den following the payment of ₦10 million ransom for his release.
Major Ajayi was kidnapped on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, from his residence around 11:30pm by gunmen who shot sporadically.
Initially, the sum of ₦50 million ransom was demanded by the abductors. This lingered for long when the family could not pay; and it resulted in his health deteriorating, as he had no means to get his medication.
It was gathered that the kidnappers informed the family that their plea for his medication to be forwarded to him will come at an extra cost, a concession that couldn’t be met by the family.
However, as soon as the abductors discovered that Ajayi couldn’t survive, they reduced the ransom to ₦10 million, which the victim’s family agreed to pay.
“Once the ransom was paid, the kidnappers directed the family to where they would find him, only for them to meet his (Ajayi’s) lifeless body,” a reliable source told local news outlets.
The retired army officer’s remains has been deposited at Kabba Specialist Hospital mortuary.
Kidnapping has surged in the state for a while now, with the abduction of a first-class monarch, Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, the Oba Okoloke in Yagba West Local Government Area, who was in the same way abducted from his home in early May. He’s yet to be released either.
However, the governor of the state, Ahmed Usman Ododo, speaking at the Eid ground last Sallah in Okene, appealed to residents to remain calm, as efforts to rid the criminal elements out of the state are already yielding positive interest.
Retired Joe Ajayi, 76, was once the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Kabba/Bunu Chapter.
INSECURITY AND VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
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