A 40-year-old farmer, Akinola Akinnibinu has been allegedly killed by suspected kidnappers in his farm at Oko Oparun, Ondo East Local Government area of Ondo state.

The kidnappers allegedly killed the farmer after demanding N700,000 from his family.

The murder which occurred at the weekend has heightened fear and panic among the people of the community.

It was gathered that the victim went to his cocoa farm to harvest and was said to have put a call to his wife, directing her to collect N700,000 from POS machine and bring it to the farm.

It was further gathered that the suspects later called the victim’s wife to send the money to the account number they had sent to her.

The wife out of fear alerted Amotekun Corps and other villagers. 

However, on getting to the scene of the crime, they did not meet the suspected kidnappers and the husband.

It was gathered that his lifeless body was found on the fourth day sprayed with chemical suspected to be acid inside the farm.

According to his wife, “my husband left the house in the morning to his farm, he later called me to collect money from the POS near our house. I asked him what he wants to use the money for, he said I should bring it that he will tell me when I get to the farm.

“Later, some men used my husband’s number to call me to send the money to an Opay account, they called again that they did not see the money and I told them that I have sent it.

“They asked me to come to the farm, because of that, I was scared and I alerted Amotekun and other villagers. As I was coming with people, they called and said since I have alerted people,  that ‘I will see’. 

“On getting to the place, I did not see them and we left, not until yesterday when villagers called that they saw dead body that was covered with bamboo leaves and there was chemical all over the body. It was my husband’s body”, she explained.

An eyewitness said the corpse was found on Wednesday afternoon when breeze blew off the leaves because he was covered.

The police at Igba Division were said to have rushed to the scene, where they made frantic efforts to retrieve the corpse but the chemical has weakened the body.

The corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the General Hospital mortuary in the town.

Credit: The Hope