Gunmen kidnap four in Ekiti, demand N20m ransom

Gunmen kidnapped four people on Oke Ako-Irele Road in Ikole Local Government Area of ​​Ekiti State and demanded N20 million ransom.

Sources speaking to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Thursday said the incident happened at about 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6.

The abductees are said to be occupants of a commercial vehicle and a mini-truck driving on the road to the border.

The victims are said to have been ambushed on a potholed section of road connecting Ekiti and the Kogi border.

According to the sources, the driver, who is from Ipao Ekiti, and a passenger were kidnapped in the commercial vehicle, while the driver and his assistant were taken away in the mini-truck, which was reportedly carrying charcoal.

“We were in a meeting at about 8pm on Wednesday when we received information that there were two vehicles with the doors open and the headlights on the road, but no one in the vehicles,” a source said.

“When we got there, we saw a company car and a mini truck. But before we got there, the occupants of the two vehicles had been kidnapped by the kidnappers. The kidnappers have been calling for N20 million since Wednesday evening as a ransom for the victims.

“During the call from the room, we learned that the victims are four and that the passenger got into the company vehicle with Irele Ekiti and went to Ayedun Ekiti.

“The driver of a commercial car said he didn’t know where they were in the bush, but he only knew they were near a river because they could hear sounds of a flowing river. However, men from the Police Rapid Response Squad, the Amotekun Corps and local hunters combed the bush to rescue them. it is our prayer that they become healthy and hearty.”

Another source said: “The kidnappers have been calling since Wednesday evening asking for N20m as a ransom. However, the police, Ametekun Corps and hunters have scoured the bush to rescue them. It is our prayer that they will deliver them wholesome and hearty.”

Another source said the communities in Ekamefa, made up of Irele, Ijowa, Oke Ako, Ipao, Itapaji and Iyemero, lived in fear of the kidnappers, who he said had surrounded the area.

A spokesman for the Ekamefa community in Ekiti, Oluwafemi Abayomi, told reporters: “Insecurity is a big problem in our area. Our people are not safe, no one can go back to the farm without being kidnapped.”

He therefore called for the intervention of the state and federal governments.