Gunmen have abducted two Chinese expatriates, identified as Chen Wenguang and Liang Ding, in the Kémta/Abule-Owu area along Onigbedu Road in Ogun State.

The Guardian learnt that the duo were abducted at about 1:45 p.m. on Sunday when they left the company to visit friends.

According to a police source, Wenguang and Ding were affiliated with the Good One Carton Company in the area.

“Wenguang and Ding left the company on their own without notifying security personnel, including the police and military assigned to it, nor did they inform the company itself.

“They mentioned to a few people that they were heading to Kémta Village, about a kilometre from the company, to visit some friends,” the source said.

Confirming the development yesterday, the spokesperson for the state Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola, said the kidnappers had contacted the company to demand a ransom.

She said: “The company’s security supervisor reported that one of the expatriates called to inform him that Wenguang and Ding had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding money in exchange for their release.

“Our operatives in the Ewekoro Division, with the assistance of local vigilantes, military personnel from the Social Orientation and Safety Corps (SoSC), local hunters, and other security groups, thoroughly searched the entire Kémta Village forest for the duo but were unable to find them.”

She said that efforts are ongoing to secure their release.