Gunmen abduct two Ondo farmers, demand N100m ransom

By Boye Oyeyemi

Suspected kidnappers have abducted two farmers in Parubber community, Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, and reportedly demanded N100 million for their release.

The victims were reportedly working on their farms on Monday when the gunmen ambushed them and forced them into a nearby forest.

A farmer who escaped, Pastor Yemi Omowale, said the incident occurred between noon and 1 p.m. while they were tending to animals at his piggery farm along the Ondo-Ife Road.

Omowale said he saw one of the masked gunmen carrying an AK-47 rifle as he approached one of the victims before the abduction took place.

He said the kidnappers had contacted the wife of one of the victims and demanded N100 million, adding that the family could not afford the ransom.

Omowale said the incident had been reported to the police and the Amotekun Corps, while appealing to the government and security agencies to secure the victims’ safe release.

Confirming the incident, the Ondo State Police Command said a report was received at the Oke-Igbo Divisional Police Headquarters shortly after the abduction, adding that a joint team of police operatives, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, local hunters and vigilantes had launched a search-and-rescue operation.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Jimoh Abayomi, assured residents that security personnel were using intelligence and other operational resources to rescue the victims unharmed and arrest the suspects, while urging members of the public to remain vigilant and provide credible information to assist the operation.