Residents of Ilorin, Kwara State capital, were on Friday enveloped by trepidation over rumoured abduction of an Ilorin-based Muslim Cleric, identified as Muhammadu Buhari Jamiu.
Buhari was reportedly kidnapped in the early hours of Friday at his residence in Ilorin.
The voice of the alleged abducted cleric’s wife could be heard in the background of a now viral video requesting assistance to enable the family to pay the N5m ransom demanded by the unknown kidnappers.
Another male voice from the video clip gave the impression that the unknown kidnappers allegedly demanded N30m ransom but was scaled down to N5m after negotiations.
The kidnap incident threw fans of Buhari Omomusa into a state of apprehension as they expressed worry and prayed for his safe release from the abductors.
While some members of the public view the development as a case of mistaken identity resulting from identical names, others opined that it’s a scam orchestrated to hoodwink the public and government.
Reacting on the radio channel, Buhari Omomusa debunked the report saying he is safe and that no kidnap incident happened to him.
When contacted on phone on Friday, the spokesman of the state Police Command, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, described the video clip as fake.
He said “The Alhaji Tunde Buhari that was kidnapped in Oluwalose Community in Oko-Olowo area of Ilorin, had been rescued and made public.
“Even the second victim kidnapped alongside Tunde Buhari has also been rescued,” he added.
The two rescued victims were reportedly abducted at the Oko-Olowo area of the Ilorin metropolis in the state capital recently.