Body of kidnapped ex-Ekiti varsity DVC found in shallow grave

The former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Prof. Olorunfemi Olaofe, has been found d£ad over three weeks after he was kidnapped.

The 79-year-old retired university don was kidnapped from his house in Ado-Ekiti alongside his security guard on 9 July, 2024 and driven away in his car, which the police said they recovered days after the abduction. 

The body of the former lecturer was discovered in a shallow grave along Airport Road. 

However, it remains unclear whether his death was due to natural causes related to his age or if he was murdered by his kidnappers. 

The kidnappers had contacted the family demanding for N50m ransom to release the victim and later reduced it to N15m.

The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Adeniran Akinwale, confirmed the sad development on Wednesday, July 31. 

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

“However, we have arrested many people, and you know the circumstances surrounding the incident. We suspect insider involvement, as the security man employed by the professor was the one who planned it.

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