By Sunday Ameh
Suspected kidnappers have abducted two farmers in Parubber community, in the Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, with their captors reportedly demanding N100 million for their release.
The victims were said to have been working on their farms along the Ondo-Ife Road when the armed men reportedly attacked and led them into a nearby forest.
A farmer who escaped the incident, Pastor Yemi Omowale, said the attack occurred on Monday afternoon while farmers were tending to their farms and livestock.
Omowale alleged that one of the kidnappers, who was armed with an AK-47 rifle and wore a mask, approached one of the farmers before the assailants abducted the two victims.
He said the incident had been reported to the police and the Ondo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun.
According to him, the kidnappers later contacted the wife of one of the victims and demanded N100 million as ransom.
He appealed to security agencies and the Ondo State Government to intensify efforts to rescue the victims and reunite them safely with their families.
Confirming the abduction, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, said the incident was reported at the Oke-Igbo Divisional Police Headquarters.
Ayanlade disclosed that a joint security team comprising police operatives, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Amotekun personnel, local hunters and vigilantes had commenced a coordinated search-and-rescue operation.
He said security agencies were using intelligence-driven strategies to locate the victims and apprehend those responsible for the abduction.
The police spokesperson urged residents to remain calm and provide credible information that could assist security operatives in rescuing the victims unhurt and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
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