The Oyo State Police Command has secured the release of a 60-year-old head teacher and farmer, Mathew Owoade, who was abducted by suspected kidnappers along the Igbojaye–Budo Aare bush road in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of the state.

The Command's Public Relations Officer, CSP Olayinka Ayanlade, disclosed this in a statement issued in Ibadan on Monday, saying the victim regained his freedom following a coordinated security operation launched immediately after the incident.

According to Ayanlade, the rescue was made possible through the swift deployment of a joint security team and sustained investigative efforts, which mounted intense operational pressure on the abductors.

He explained that the pressure compelled the kidnappers to abandon Owoade, who regained his freedom on the evening of Monday, barely a day after he was abducted.

"The Oyo State Police Command wishes to update members of the public on the earlier press release issued on July 13, 2026, regarding the abduction of a farmer, Mathew Owoade, who was kidnapped along the Igbojaye–Budo Aare bush road in Oyo State on July 12, 2026.

"Following the immediate deployment of a coordinated joint security operation and sustained investigative efforts by the command, the intense operational pressure mounted on the abductors forced the hoodlums to abandon the victim, who regained his freedom on the evening of July 13, 2026," the statement read.

The police spokesman said the victim had been taken to a medical facility for evaluation and necessary treatment following his ordeal.

He added that after receiving medical attention, Owoade would be debriefed by investigators as part of ongoing efforts to identify, track and arrest those responsible for the abduction.

Suspected gunmen abducted the headmaster of a nomadic primary school in Itesiwaju Local Government Area on Saturdya and demanded for a ransom of N30 million for his release.

He was reportedly kidnapped on Saturday evening between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. while returning home from his farm in Igbojaye community.

According to his son, Abiola Owoade, the headmaster had gone to inspect his farmland before the incident.

He said his father was intercepted by armed men on his way back and forcibly taken to an unknown destination.

Abiola disclosed that the abductors later contacted the family by telephone and initially demanded N50 million before reducing the ransom to N30 million after negotiations.

He appealed to the Oyo State Government, security agencies and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene and secure his father's safe release, lamenting that the family lacks the financial capacity to raise such an amount.

The latest abduction comes barely days after security agencies rescued 39 schoolchildren and six teachers who had been abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area in May.