There was a massive protest in Ajebamidele area of Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, following the kidnap of four residents by suspected gunmen on Tuesday evening.
The angry residents trooped out en masse and blocked the busy Ado-Ikere highway during a protest that started at about 7.00 am on Wednesday with hundreds of vehicles stranded.
The kidnapping incident which took place in the Goshen land community in Ajebamidele area of the state capital around 6:20 pm had left residents in shock with economic and social activities paralysed.
The protesters disclosed that a couple, whose names were given as Mr and Mrs Falomo and a man said to be a pastor were among the kidnapped victims.
Tribune Online correspondent who visited the community on Wednesday gathered that Mrs Tope Falomo who is said to be pregnant was reportedly trailed to her residence by the armed men before she was seized alongside her husband.
The other two victims were said to have been kidnapped as the gunmen were making their way out of the community through the surrounding bush.
“The pastor and the other woman were kidnapped when the gunmen were leaving the house and saw them on a bike. It was just a coincidence that they were kidnapped, ” a source in the community told Nigerian Tribune.
The joint security task force, compromising men of the police, army, civil defence and other security agents were seen at the scene of the incident in five security vans.
The protesting residents decried the level of insecurity in the land and called on both federal and state governments to urgently do something to save them from criminals.
Some of their placards read “Save Us From Kidnappers,” “We Are No Longer Safe, Government Come To Our Rescue,” “Ajebamidele On Fire, Kidnappers Have Taken Over,” “No Movement On The Road Until Government Stops Kidnapping,” “Citizens Are No Longer Safe, What Is Happening,” “Security Is A Dividend of Democracy, Give It To Us,” “Ajebamidele Must Be Free From Kidnappers and Robbers,” among others.
The Chairman of Goshen Landlords Association, Mr Samuel Fasua, said the protest was staged to draw the attention of the government to the incident for the authorities to do something urgent to save the beleaguered residents.
Fasua said, “I was called suddenly when an okada rider who witnessed the incident raised an alarm that armed kidnappers were already in the neighbourhood. That was why we called the Police to rescue us.
“According to the information we gathered, the kidnappers were many in number and they were masked. Nobody could come out to rescue the victims because of the heavy gunfire that rocked our neighbourhood during the incident.
“Guns boomed as if the place was a war zone and that was why we had to call the Police because we believe they could confront those criminals. The matter had already been reported to the police station.”
Another resident, Mr Emmanuel Ayodeji, who disclosed that his sister-in-law was among those kidnapped disclosed that the abductors have called the family to demand a ransom of N10 million.
According to him, “My sister-in-law was among those and they packed to this area about one month ago. We were told on arrival that the kidnappers came to abduct husband and wife from their home.
“The wife arrived home with her car and they trailed her from outside and those people were armed with guns. The husband confronted them but he was overpowered and they abducted him as well.
“It was this morning that I later got to know that two more persons were kidnapped during the attack including a pastor and a woman. The kidnappers later called this morning to demand a ransom of N10 million from us.”
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