Residents of Ode-Ekiti in Ekiti State are gripped by fear after a farmer was allegedly tortured by four masked gunmen who invaded his farmland in search of his younger brother, who has reportedly been missing for more than four years.

The victim, Oguntuase Ademola, reported the incident to the Ode-Ekiti Police Station on Sunday at about 9:30 a.m., a day after the attack, which occurred at about 8:00 a.m.on Saturday, July 18, 2026, while he was working on his farm along Agbado Road in Ode-Ekiti.

According to a police crime diary, the four armed men, wearing face masks, emerged from the bush, surrounded Ademola and repeatedly beat him with sticks while demanding to know the whereabouts of his younger brother, Oguntuase Felix.

Ademola told police that the assailants showed him a photograph of Felix and threatened to kill him if he failed to disclose his brother’s location.

In his statement, the farmer explained that although Felix is his younger brother, he had not seen or heard from him in more than four years after he left Ode-Ekiti for Kaduna State in search of better opportunities.

He added that the last information the family received came from their elder sister, Oguntuase Olofin Mary, who reportedly said Felix fled Nigeria after surviving a bandit attack in Kaduna.

Since then, the family has had no contact with him and does not know his whereabouts.

Ademola further told investigators that while some of the attackers spoke Hausa, one of them communicated fluently in Yoruba, raising suspicion that the gang may have had local knowledge of the area.

The assault left the farmer with injuries and emotional trauma, heightening fears among residents of the farming community over worsening insecurity in rural areas.

Police have commenced an investigation to identify the suspects and determine the motive behind the attack.

The crime diary entry, recorded by Corporal Fatoba Oluwatosin, confirmed that the case is being handled by the Ode-Ekiti Police Division under the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Kehinde Olanrewaju.

Residents have appealed to security agencies to intensify patrols in farming communities and ensure the perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice. (The Guardian, but headline rejigged)