No fewer than 10 travellers have again been kidnapped in Ondo State by unknown gunmen, worsening the security situation in the state.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the victims were abducted on Sunday while coming in a bus from the South-South region of the country.
It was also gathered that the victims were abducted in the Owo/Ipele area along the Benin/Owo highway in the Northern Senatorial District of the state.
The victims, who were said to have been accosted and forced to stop by the gunmen, were immediately marched into the bush by their abductors while their vehicle was abandoned.
According to a source, other travellers who saw their bus abandoned on the road in a manner that indicated the vehicle was not well parked observed that the travellers’ luggage was left in the bus.
However, kidnappers were said to have contacted the families of the victims and demanded a considerable amount of money for their release.
The abductors have also threatened to kill the victims if their demands are not met by their families.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, confirmed the development.
Odunlami-Omisanya, however, said information at the disposal of the formation revealed that unknown gunmen abducted seven persons.
Recall that some Fulani herdsmen shot dead five farmers in Ajegunle/Powerline community in Akure North Local Government Area of the state last Tuesday.
