Mrs. Ibukun Otesile, the incoming president of Junior Chamber International Ibadan Elite and daughter of a prominent Ibadan pastor, was abducted Thursday evening outside her residence in Oyo State. The incident prompted immediate alerts from Christian leaders and confirmation from police. As of Friday, investigations were underway with no details on the attackers or ransom demands.
On Thursday, December 4, 2025, around 8 p.m., Mrs. Ibukun Otesile was kidnapped in front of her gate at General Gas in the Akobo area of Ibadan, Oyo State. Otesile, who serves as the 2025 president of JCI Ibadan Elite, is the daughter of Reverend Dr. Olalekan Babatunde, founder and general overseer of Jesus Is King Ministries. She is also a mother of two.
The abduction was quickly shared across social media and a WhatsApp group of the Oyo State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Olamide Olanrewaju, personal assistant to the outgoing CAN chairman Apostle Joshua Sola Akinyemiju, confirmed the incident to journalists on Friday. He described how the alert spread: “We all have a WhatsApp group, which the father is also a member of. So the CAN Chairman posted it as a distress call, saying that the daughter of Reverend and Dr. Lekan Babatunde had been kidnapped.” Group members responded with calls for prayer, and Olanrewaju tagged Reverend Moses, the chaplain at the Oyo State Police Force Headquarters, to mobilize action.
CAN issued a public alert stating: “The daughter of our beloved Reverend Dr. Lekan Babatunde was kidnapped this night, Thursday, December 4, around 8:00 pm. Ibukun Otesile, the mother of two, was kidnapped in front of her gate at General Gas, Akobo.” The organization urged the Nigerian Army Headquarters and Nigeria Police Force to deploy all resources for her swift release.
Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer Adewale Osifeso verified the event, noting: “She was kidnapped on Thursday night. Investigation is ongoing.” A local resident echoed the family's plea: “The family, along with CAN and all well-meaning Nigerians, earnestly requests that information about her whereabouts be shared far and wide and relayed to the appropriate security authorities.” The Oyo State Police Command in Eleyele was notified and actively engaged, though no further information on the perpetrators or demands was available at the time of reporting.