Some armed bandits suspected to be kidnappers have attacked an 18 seated bus along the Idoani-Ifira Akoko axis in Akoko South East Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Wednesday evening, abducting ten of the passengers.
The armed men were said to have blocked the highway and attacked the bus heading towards Abuja from Lagos, forcing the bus to stop abruptly on the highway and dragged the victims into the bush to an unknown destination.
It was gathered that the passengers of the bus rushed out of the vehicle while the hoodlums operated and abducted some of the victims before robbing the passengers of their valuables before abducting them into the forest.
A source in the community, who simply identified himself as Aderemi, said the number of the abducted passengers cannot be ascertained but confirmed that many of the passengers were kidnapped by the bandits.
The Divisional Police Officer, (DPO) in Isua Akoko, Mr Hakeem Sadiq, who confirmed the incident said the case had been reported at the police station, saying the anti-kidnapping unit of the command had swung into action to ensure the release of the victims.
He said the state Police Command was already working with sister agencies in the state to ensure that the travellers were rescued unhurt.
Meanwhile, a source close to one of the victims said that the kidnappers had demanded N10million as ransom for the release of the abducted passengers, saying the abductors have contacted some family members of the victims.
However, an Ifira Akoko community leader Chief Boboye Ojomo has attributed incessant robberies and kidnapping on the axis to the deplorable state of the federal road from Ipele to Idoani and Isua Akoko had been abandoned by the contractors handling the road project.
Ojomo called on the federal government through the minister of works Babatunde Fashola to look into all federal roads in Ondo State as many are now in the state of disrepair.
Confirming the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, said only three people were kidnapped by the gunmen.
She said detectives from the command had been deployed to the forest to fish out the criminals and rescue the travellers unhurt.
Odunlami said “There was nothing like that. There was actually a kidnap case but three people were kidnapped.
“As I speak to you our anti-kidnapping unit has taken over that case and we expect something positive soon. So, there was nothing like an 18-passenger bus.”
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