(Suspected gunmen. Photo by Premuim Times)
Two farmers in Ifira, an agricultural village in Ondo State’s Akoko South-East Local Government Area, have been kidnapped by suspected gunmen.
According to sources, the attackers took the victims into a neighboring woodland after ambushing them on their way to the farm.
The event has been reported to the police and the Ondo State Security Network Agency, nicknamed Amotekun, according to a family member of one of the victims.
The report claims that the abductors have made contact with the families and are requesting N10 million in ransom to free the victims.
One of the family members begged for immediate help.
A family member said they had reported the incident to the police and the Amotekun Corps in their area, appealing to security agencies and the government to help rescue their relatives unharmed.
Reacting to the incident, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Jimoh Abayomi, confirmed that a report of missing persons had been received at the Isua Akoko Divisional Headquarters.
He said a joint security team comprising personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Amotekun Corps, local hunters, Agbekoya operatives and community volunteers had been deployed to the Oke-Ifira/Idogun forest axis to search for the victims.
He disclosed that search and rescue operations were ongoing, with all available operational and intelligence resources being deployed to locate the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The police spokesperson, however, noted that the command was not aware of any r@ns0m demand in connection with the incident, stating categorically that no such demand had been made known to them.
Abayomi appealed to members of the public with credible information to assist the ongoing rescue efforts, assuring that all information received would be treated confidentially.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ensuring the safe rescue of the victims and the arrest of those responsible, while urging residents to remain calm, vigilant and continue supporting the police with timely and credible information.