The leadership of So-Safe Corps, a security agency established by the Ogun State Government, issued an official apology to the family of the late Pastor Adeniyi Adisa, who tragically lost his life during a security operation on July 1, 2023, in the Abule Ori community of the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area in the state.

At a press conference held in Abeokuta, the agency’s Commander, Soji Ganzallo, expressed deep regret for the incident, emphasizing that Adisa’s death was not intentional.

The family members of the deceased, including Adisa’s wives, children, and other relatives, were present during the briefing.

Ganzallo recounted the events of the incident, stating that So-Safe Corps officers were responding to a distress call at Abule Ori, where they successfully rescued seven church members who had been kidnapped during a church service.

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Subsequently, the Corps decided to pursue the kidnappers, leading to an unfortunate shootout. It was during this exchange that the unintended and tragic incident occurred.

The statement from Ganzallo read, “It was an unfortunate, very sad situation that none of us are happy about.

After this incident, So Safe issued a release to the members of the public that several kidnapped church members were rescued, and one of the kidnappers was gunned down while others escaped with bullet wounds.

We, however, later got to know in the course of our investigation that the person killed was not a kidnapper but Pastor Adeniyi Adisa of Oke Oluokun, Ibadan, Oyo State, who had earlier been kidnapped by the kidnappers and probably brought along to be freed after collecting the ransom before going for their next operation, but maybe there was a delay somehow leading to this incident.”

Ganzallo went on to explain that the Ogun State Police Command has conducted an investigation and confirmed that Pastor Adeniyi Adisa was indeed a kidnapped victim and not a kidnapper.

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This retraction was issued to set the record straight and provide some solace to the family, emphasizing that Adisa was an innocent victim.

Moreover, So-Safe Corps is collaborating with the state Commissioner of Police, Alamutu Abiodun, to provide compensation to support Adisa’s children, with the disbursement expected within the first week of November.

Chief Muiz Akande, speaking on behalf of the Adisa family, expressed satisfaction with the amicable resolution of the tragic incident, saying, “It’s a painful loss but what can we do? As a reasonable family, we have found out that it was an operational error. It was not intended.

We have had engagement with the police and officers of the So Safe Corps culminating in today’s press briefing.”

Adisa, the General Manager of VGC Water, Lekki, Lagos, was abducted on June 24 while returning from a friend’s visit in the Yotomi area of Owode Egba in Ogun State.

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Due to a delay in the ransom payment, his abductors abandoned him near a church they intended to attack.

The security officers, mistakenly thinking Adisa was one of the kidnappers, engaged them in a shootout, leading to his tragic death.