Police Confirm Kidnap Of Pastor’s Daughter In Oyo

The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed the kidnapping of the 2025 President of Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ibadan Elite, Mrs Ibukun Otesile.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adewale Osifeso, who confirmed the development, said the victim was kidnapped on Thursday evening in front of her home in the General Gas area of Akobo, Ibadan, Oyo the state capital

“She was kidnapped on Thursday night. Investigation is ongoing,” the PPRO said.

Otesile, a mother of two, is the daughter of Olalekan Babatunde, founder and General Overseer of Jesus Is King Ministries in Ibadan.

News of her abduction quickly spread across social media platforms on Friday.

Confirming the incident to journalists on Friday, Olamide Olanrewaju, Personal Assistant to Apostle Joshua Sola Akinyemiju, the outgoing Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Oyo State, said the association received the alert at about 8:45 p.m. on Thursday.

“We all have a WhatsApp group, which her father is also a member of. So the CAN chairman posted it as a distress call, saying that the daughter of Reverend (Dr.) Lekan Babatunde had been kidnapped.

“Everyone in the group became worried and started saying, ‘Prayer, prayer, prayer.’ Religious leaders and everyone else were praying. I said prayer is good, but we also need to do the right thing.

“On the same group, I tagged Rev Moses, the Chaplain of the Police Force Headquarters in Oyo State, before putting out the alert.

“I learned she was kidnapped at the gate in front of her house at General Gas. Only God knows what she was doing there, where she went, or who she was with,” Olanrewaju said.

The distress alert later shared by CAN read: “The daughter of our beloved Reverend Dr. Lekan Babatunde was kidnapped this night, Thursday, December 4, around 8:00 p.m. Ibukun Otesile, the mother of two, was kidnapped in front of her gate at General Gas, Akobo.”

Meanwhile, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has appealed to security agencies for urgent intervention, calling on the Nigerian Army Headquarters and the Nigeria Police Force to deploy all necessary resources to secure Otesile’s immediate release.