Gunmen have abducted the secretary of Okeluju Local Council Development Area (LCDA) under Akoko North West Local Council of Ondo State along with two other individuals.

The council boss, Joseph Aladesuyi, who is the Managing Director of Jotina Farms, was abducted on his farm in Kajola axis of Ilu-Abo in Akure North Local Council.

Ilu-Abo is less than five kilometres from the Akure airport.

The incident, which took place about 10.00am yesterday, caused tension in the community, which had in the past months been prone to incessant killings and abduction.

The heavily armed men numbering about 10 were said to have stormed the farm, overwhelming the victims before fleeing into the surrounding forest with their captives.

According to sources close to the family, Aladesuyi was conducting routine activities on his farm along with his daughter at the time of the invasion by the gunmen.

“He arrived at his farm around 9.00am with his daughter. Shortly after, the kidnappers, who were about 10, arrived and shot sporadically into the air. They dragged him, but he struggled with them, and one of them (gunmen) shot him in the hand and then took him away.

“They (gunmen) left his daughter alone but told her point blank that they were kidnapping her father. We are anxiously waiting for their call because we don’t know in what state he is at the moment after he was shot,” the family source stated.

The specific identities of the two other individuals kidnapped alongside the council secretary were yet to be known.

The kidnappers had yet to contact the family, at the time pf going to press, to negotiate the release of the council boss.

Following the sporadic gunshot, panic engulfed the community as parents rushed to schools to withdraw their children and wards.

Security personnel, including the police, Amotekun corps and local vigilante, launched a manhunt for the gunmen, combing the dense forests where the gunmen are believed to have escaped into.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Ondo, DSP Jimoh Abayomi, said he had yet to get details of the incident.

Amid the security challenges facing the state, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, a few days ago, pointedly stated that bandits and terrorists had not operated anywhere in the state since the 2022 Owo massacre.