One week after Yoruba Nation activist Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, launched efforts to rescue kidnapped victims in Igboho, Oyo State, fresh details have emerged about the operation and the deteriorating condition of the Old Oyo National Park (ONP).
According to The Nation, Igboho issued a two-hour ultimatum for the release of victims allegedly abducted near Igboho before leading more than 40 men, alongside local hunters and vigilantes, into the park after police said the victims remained in captivity despite online claims they had been freed. Reports said the rescue effort was hampered after the kidnappers repeatedly changed locations.
An indigene, Oyebisi, said Igboho was not invited by the monarch but intervened voluntarily following appeals from residents. He added that the activist had entered the forest before meeting with Fulani leaders.
Oyebisi also lamented the state of the Old Oyo National Park, claiming key Yoruba heritage sites had been abandoned and were now vulnerable to destruction by herders and criminal groups.
“The last time I visited the forest, I shed tears when I saw some of the heritage sites, including the rocks that served as a stool for Alaafin Sango, the ruins of Koso town, Akesan Market and the city’s wall decrepit and abandoned,” he said.
