Early on January 13, 2023, panic broke out in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, due to reports that Mohammadu Buhari Jamiu, a Muslim cleric with ties to Ilorin, had been kidnapped.
He reportedly said he was kidnapped at his home in Ilorin in the early hours of Friday in a video clip that is currently going viral and has the inscription “Buhari Omo Musa” in the background.
However, contrary to rumors that he had been kidnapped, research showed that the real well-known and prolific preacher, Buhari Omomusa, is safe, hale, and hearty.
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In the backdrop of the viral video clip, the wife of the purported kidnapped cleric could be heard pleading for help so that the family could pay the N5m ransom demanded by the unidentified kidnappers.
Another male voice from the video tape seemed to indicate that the ransom demand from the unidentified kidnappers was reduced from N30 million to N5 million after talks.
Fans of Buhari Omomusa were confused by the kidnapping situation and expressed concern and prayed for his safe return from the captors.
A scam intended to defraud the public and the government was described by some members of the public as the development, while others saw it as a case of mistaken identity brought on by similar names.
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