Kongo’s death and the gloating of Osun PDP, by Emmanuel Kupoluyi

The untimely death of Dr Rauf Adekunle Adeniji (Kongo) has sent jitters across Osun State, with many mourning his passing. Strangely, the governing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun are everywhere celebrating and gloating over the sad event, using it to fuel their cruel and unreasonable politics against President Bola Tinubu and Osun APC.

As if this is the moment they have long waited and prayed for, the PDP are claiming the deceased National Director of Administration of APC was left to die in the den of the bandits without security raising a finger. No good intentioned commentator would blame the federal government and leaders of APC in Osun for being unfair to Kongo given the available facts and information. It can be confirmed that all resources and logistics were mobilized to free the Ife-born intellectual, but unfortunately all efforts proved abortive. I will in this piece situate the issue in an attempt to cure the falsehood and insanity being propagated by some social media nitwits regarding the death of the gentleman-politician who served as Chairman of Ife Central Local Government during the governorship of Chief Bisi Akande.

Dr Adeniji Kongo alongside three of his relatives, to wit: Prince Michael Akinropo Adesiyan, his wife Mrs Esther Adesiyan and son, was kidnapped on January 26, 2025, in their home in Kubwa, Bwari Local Government Area of FCT Abuja. According to the reports credited to Prince Adesiyan, Kongo’s cousin, Mrs Adesiyan was murdered in anger shortly after they were captured as she experienced fatique, causing her difficulty to move in the pace of their captors when they were being shepherded to trenches in the dead of the night. Her corpse, according to Abuja Metro, was discovered around Ijah-Gbagyi community in Tafa LGA of Niger State, the following day.

The security were alerted of the incident and rescue search began in harness. The kidnappers reached out to the family days after for ransom and a deal of N35 million was reportedly agreed upon. To raise the fund, the family contacted Kongo’s associates who in turn reached out to the major shareholders in Osun APC. The stakeholders rose to the occasion, swiftly mobilized fund just as they pushed and coordinated the security to go after the janjaweed. Things seemed to be going smoothly until a national newspaper published the news of Kongo’s abduction, profiling him as a political big-wig, a description which encouraged the kidnappers to raise the ransom from N35 to N350 million, hoping to “cash-out” from the big fish they caught. A fresh negotiation began in full swing, and after a back and forth, a new ransom of N85 million was decided.

Sensing that the security had been on their trail and were closing in on them, the kidnappers changed their tactics and became evasive at one point and incommunicado at another point. About three weeks ago, a ransom of N60 million was delivered to the kidnappers in their den by one Mr Wasiu who, when other people designated to take the ransom along with him to the captors opted out in the middle of the road for fear to their lives, summoned an uncommon courage to reach the spot the abductors were stationed in order to get his leader freed from the hands of the monsters. But for sheer luck and grace of God, Wasiu too would have been pinned down as an article for ransom. The story of how other delegates chickened out and how the bandits were convinced to accept the N60 million part payment, with the promise for full payment later, would be told another time.

Despite the payment of the ransom, the abductors held on to the captives, and even a week after, demanded additional ransom of N193 million as well as other operational items for the use of the kidnappers. Until the gallant Nigerian military, drawn specially for the operation, came to the rescue and set them free. The news of the freedom of 60 captives filtered in to Abuja and it was a jubilation that later cut across the country. The good tiding was equally salivated in Osun where all the party faithful had for weeks kept vigil for the safe return of the political megastar from Ife.

All along that the negotiations were going on, the family were often allowed to speak with Prince Adesiyan, who in turn would assure them of the safety of Dr Adeniji Kongo. Each time the family called and asked after Kongo, he was usually said to be on sick-bed receiving treatment. The calls were usually brief and brisk. It was this understanding the family and APC stakeholders involved in the fund raising and rescue mission had about existence of Kongo, which no doubt excited them to go public when sources in the military informed them of the eventual and successful rescue operation. However, during proper profiling of the returnees, it was realized that only Prince Akinropo Adesiyan and his son were released along other victims numbering close to 60.

When he was briefly interviewed at his hospital bed where he was recuperating, Prince Adesiyan confirmed that Dr Adeniji Kongo passed away in January, barely two hours after his wife was tragically killed. He said the shock arising from the gruesome death of Mrs Adesiyan could have been responsible for his untimely passing. When pressed further for why Kongo’s death was not disclosed during phone interactions with family, he said he was under intense pressure to claim Kongo was alive to sustain the ransom negotiation. He said the abductors saw only Kongo as a sure bait that could facilitate ransom payment, hence their insistence and threats to him to withhold the information

This tragic loss of Kongo which has penetrated to the spines of all who came across him in his lifetime is what the evil creatures in the political garb are twisting for political capitals. May God Almighty accept the repose of Dr Rauf Adekunle Adeniji (Kongo) and grant his beloved the strength to withstand the huge loss.