Security Forces Comb Bushes After Gunmen Kidnap Travellers In Ondo

Following the kidnap of travellers in Ondo State, the State Police Command has ordered the deployment of Special Squads to the Akunnu Akoko area of the state to rescue the victims and arrest their abductors.

Recall that some travellers were abducted on Friday evening by kidnappers in an area between Akunu Akoko and Iyere in the State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the kidnap victims who were travelling in an 18-seater bus were taken away into the forest, while their driver was shot dead.

According to a source, a little girl was, however, left behind in the bus by the hoodlums.

Although a combined team of Policemen, Soldiers, and hunters arrived at the scene and promptly began combing the bushes, no trace of the kidnappers had been found so far.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, while reacting to the incident on Sunday, said personnel drawn from various tactical units led by the Special Anti-Kidnapping Squad have also been briefed and deployed to the area for the rescue of the victims and possible arrest of the suspects.

Odunlami-Omisanya said, “The command has, however, enjoined the people of the state and the general motoring public not to panic”, insisting that the incident was an isolated case that does not determine the security status of the state.

The development has created tensions among residents over a likely resurgence of kidnapping in the state.

Recall that the Amotekun Corps in the state had paraded several suspects involved in the kidnapping in recent times, with a promise to stem the tide of the menace and other violent crimes in the state.

The Corps, under the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, had demanded the use of automatic rifles to enable it to tackle the bandits who are often well-armed with such lethal weapons.