Over the weekend, armed gunmen attacked and abducted passengers in an 18-seater bus traveling along the Ikare-Irun Akoko-Ado Ekiti highway in Ondo State. The victims were returning from a party in Ekiti State and were en route to Ikare in Ondo State on Saturday. Some of the abducted individuals are caterers who had been hired to cook at the event.
Chief Adetunji Adeleye, the Commander of the state's security outfit Amotekun, confirmed the incident, stating, "My men and soldiers from Ekiti are combing the forest. The hoodlums did not kidnap the 18 passengers in the bus. Some of the passengers escaped themselves, while our men with soldiers rescued some of the victims in the night.
The attack occurred around 6 pm, according to eyewitness accounts. The
victims are from Irun Akoko, Ikare Akoko, and Ekiti communities. One witness reported that a young boy managed to escape while his mother and her staff were taken into the forest by the abductors.
Toyin Ogunyemi, one of the escapees, mentioned that the kidnappers had not yet contacted the families of the victims for ransom. Military personnel, Amotekun Corps from both Ekiti and Ondo states, and local vigilantes are conducting search operations in the forests to secure the victims' safe release.
Funmi Odunlami, spokesperson for the state police command, confirmed the abduction, stating, "Four people came to the station and reported that while on their way from Ado Ekiti to Ikare at Oyinmo camp, Irun-Ado Ekiti road, they were attacked by unknown gunmen but they escaped through the bush." She assured that a police search team has been deployed to the area and that the victims will be rescued soon.
