The Ondo State Police Command has begun a manhunt for gunmen suspected to be kidnappers, who abducted 10 travellers along the Owo-Benin highway in Ose Local Council of the state.

The Guardian learnt that the assailants ambushed a space bus carrying the travellers at the Ipele axis of the highway. According to sources, the passengers, who were en route to Akure, the state capital, from Akwa Ibom State, were attacked and forced to stop before being taken into the bush.

One source, who spoke anonymously, disclosed that the driver of the bus initially mistook the gunmen for security operatives but realised they were criminals when they began shooting sporadically.

“There were 10 of them (victims) kidnapped on the Owo-Ipele road on Saturday morning at about 12:00 a.m. Their vehicles were stopped, and they were dragged into the bush to an unknown destination,” the source said.

Another source revealed that the kidnappers had contacted the victims’ families, demanding an unspecified ransom and threatening to kill the captives if their demands were not met.

However, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, confirmed the incident yesterday but stated that only seven people were kidnapped.

“The police received information that a vehicle was attacked along the Owo/Ifon road, and seven people were suspected to have been abducted. Seven travellers were involved; they were coming from Akwa Ibom State in a commercial bus. Our men are already making efforts to rescue the victims from the kidnappers and arrest the perpetrators,” she said.

The incident occurred just days after gunmen, suspected to be herders, killed five farmers in Ajegunle-Powerline in Akure North Local Council. The perpetrators of that attack are also yet to be apprehended. Efforts are ongoing to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped victims and to bring the attackers to justice.