The family of a prominent farmer in Kwara State, identified as Mr. Alabi, has called on the federal and state governments to bring his abductors to justice following his tragic death shortly after a substantial ransom was paid. Mr. Alabi, who was kidnapped from his plantation in the Asa Local Government Area earlier this month, reportedly succumbed to exhaustion and physical trauma sustained during his two-week ordeal in the forest.
According to family sources, the kidnappers had initially demanded N50 million, a figure that was eventually negotiated down to N5 million after days of harrowing phone conversations. Despite the family fulfilling the payment on February 20, the victim was found in a debilitated state near a remote path three days later. He passed away at a private hospital in Ilorin within 24 hours of his “release,” with medical reports citing severe dehydration and untreated internal injuries.
“We did everything they asked; we sold our ancestral lands to raise the money, hoping he would return to lead us,” a distraught relative told USAfrica. “To pay the ransom and still lose him is a double tragedy. We want the police to track these killers who have turned our farmlands into killing fields.” The family’s plea joins a growing chorus of rural voices demanding a permanent end to the “kidnap-for-profit” industry that continues to hollow out Nigeria’s agricultural heartland.
The Kwara State Police Command confirmed that an investigation is underway and that several “persons of interest” have been detained in connection with the forest hideouts used by the gang. However, for the Alabi family and the local farming community, arrests are not enough. They are calling for specialized military patrols to secure the agricultural corridors in the North-Central zone, warning that the continuous targeting of farmers will lead to a total collapse of food security in the region.
