The Ondo State Police Command on Tuesday confirmed the abduction of seven people along the Benin-Owo-Akure road at the Ifon area of Ose Local Government Area of the state.
The police said the victims were travellers from Akwa Ibom State to the South-West before they were kidnapped by the bandits the last Friday night.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed this while speaking with our correspondent on the incident.
She said, “The incident happened on January 31 at about 12 am and seven travellers were involved. They were coming from Akwa Ibom State on a commercial bus.
“Our men are already making efforts to rescue the victims from the kidnappers and arrest the perpetrators.”
In the same vein, a source, however, gave another number of victims that 10 travellers were abducted along the Benin-Owo-Ipele Expressway by the gunmen.
The source said, “There were 10 of them (victims), they were kidnapped on the Owo-Ipele road on Saturday morning at about 12 am. Their vehicles were stopped and they were dragged into the bush to an unknown destination.”
Similarly, the Ondo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun Corps, said the corps had arrested no fewer than 27 suspected criminals at different locations in the state .
Speaking on the development, the state commander of the corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said 24 of the suspects were involved in various breaches of law and order across the state.
According to him, some of the suspects are Akpan, Alimi, and Emmanuel—who were arrested in Akure, Emure, and Ipeme-Owo, respectively. He also mentioned Adu Ojo, who specialised in ATM fraud, a serial rapist, Ayodele Ijilakinro. Mafo and Asara were arrested for conspiracy and rape while Idris Umaru was caught illegally grazing on a farmer’s land, using underage herders.
Ondo Amotekun’s boss however noted that despite the arrests, the state remained relatively peaceful.
“Notably, there have been no recorded violations of existing laws, no crises related to land or chieftaincy disputes, and no labor union conflicts.
“Similarly, there are no reported incidents of human trafficking, student unrest, militancy, or religious clashes. However, one case of farmer-herder conflict was recorded, and three individuals were arrested for suspected kidnapping,” Adeleye confirmed.
