The Oyo State command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the kidnapping of the President-elect of Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ibadan Elite for 2025, Ibukun Otesile.
Bellnews learnt that Otesile was abducted on Thursday evening in front of her home located in the General Gas area of Akobo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Confirming the development, the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adewale Osifeso, stated that the incident occurred around 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. “She was kidnapped on Thursday night. Investigation is ongoing,” Osifeso said.
Otesile, a mother of two, is the daughter of the founder and General Overseer of Jesus Is King Ministries in Ibadan, Olalekan Babatunde.
The news of her abduction quickly spread across social media platforms on Friday, sparking widespread concern.
Confirming the incident to journalists, Personal Assistant to Apostle Joshua Sola Akinyemiju, the outgoing Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Oyo State, Olamide Olanrewaju, shared details of the distress alert. According to Olanrewaju, the association received the news 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,” Olanrewaju said.
“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.”
In the same WhatsApp group, Olanrewaju tagged Rev. Moses, the Chaplain of the Police Force Headquarters in Oyo State, before circulating 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 added.
The distress alert shared by CAN reads: “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.”
In response to the abduction, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) called on the Nigerian Army Headquarters and the Nigeria Police Force to deploy all necessary resources to ensure the safe and immediate release of Otesile.