Abductors of Ekiti teacher demand N20m ransom

The kidnappers of a classroom teacher in Ekiti State, Mr. Festus Olatunde Oke, have demanded a ransom of N20million for his release.

Sources close to the family told the Nigerian Tribune in Ado Ekiti on Thursday that the family members were contacted on Wednesday, two days after Mr. Oke was abducted.

The source also claimed that the wife of the victim had alleged that her husband’s kidnappers were Fulani.

When contacted, the Secretary of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Ekiti State, Mr. Olugbenga Ajibade, confirmed that the family had been contacted, saying “we in the NUT are also in contact with the family.”

According to Ajibade, “we have also learnt that the kidnappers demanded a ransom of N20million and we have been confused since the development.”

He said at the NUT, “we are at our wit’s end because we don’t even know how to come about that huge amount of money. We don’t even know how a teacher is expected to raise N20 million.”

The NUT scribe said, “We want to beg the Directorate of State Services (DSS), the Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the state government to come to our aide because we are helpless and don’t know what to do.”

Mr. Festus Olatunde Oke was kidnapped at a point on Ise-Ikere road, by unknown people on Monday.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that Oke was taken by the abductors at about 6pm by yet to be identified gunmen, who were said to have led him away into the forest.

It was gathered that Oke had visited Ado Ekiti from his station and was returning with his wife and mother, when the kidnappers intercepted them.

The kidnappers were said to have collected the phones of his wife and mother and abandoned them in his Toyota Camry car in which they were travelling, and led Oke into the bush.

Ajibade said the NUT got the news on Tuesday, saying “his family members and all of us at the NUT are greatly worried, because he is just a teacher.”

He said the union had reported the incident to the police in the state and explained that the police had assured that they would launch a manhunt for the abducted teacher.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Police command, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, while confirming the incident, said the report had been brought to the police.

Adeyemi said: “The report of the abduction has been brought to us and we have begun investigations. Action is being taken for the safe release of the kidnap victim.”