Amotekun rescues three more victims from kidnappers’ den

Men of the Ondo State Security Network, code named Amotekun, have rescued the three remaining passengers of the 12 kidnapped by unknown gunmen at Idoani/Ifira-Akoko axis of Ondo State.

They are Miss Omolara Fajana, Mr. Benjamin Ojoga, and Mrs. Faith Sunday, who alongside nine others were kidnapped on Monday night, while heading to Lagos from Abuja.

Amotekun had earlier rescued nine passengers after a distress call, shortly after the passengers were kidnapped, with the trio: Fajana, Sunday and Ojoga only rescued on Friday night through joint efforts with other security agencies.

Recounting their experiences, yesterday, at Amotekun Headquarters, Akure, they confirmed that they were travelling to Lagos from Abuja, when the gang swooped on them, shot sporadically as they were marched into the forest.

Contrary to reports that they were kidnapped on Wednesday, they disclosed that the incident happened on Monday, with the abductors forcing them to trek over three hours into the forest without food or water that night.

According to Fajana: “It was on Monday, September 6. We were coming from Abuja and after leaving Ibilo, around the bad portion; our bus got stuck at that particular place and it took us like three hours before we were able to come out.

“Shortly after, we got to Ifira-Akoko and saw another bad portion. So, the driver asked us to alight for the bus to be lighter and we all got down. As the bus drove through the muddy part of the road, we heard gunshots and everyone scattered, running from one angle to the other. Shortly after that, we saw that the bus did not stop, he kept moving, and that was how we were kidnapped.”

The state’s Amotekun Corps Commander, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, recounted that the victims were rescued after his men gave the kidnappers hot chase for several hours, though he said the operation was carried out with support of Department of State Security (DSS) and Police.

He explained that his men did not exchange gunfire with the criminals to avert casualties, noting that they restricted their operations to Ondo State boundary, but the kidnappers escaped to a neighbouring state.