The owner of the Daniyan Shaba Global Investment Filling station in Gbugbu town, Alhaji Abbas and his manager, Abubakar Issa, were last weekend kidnapped by unidentified gunmen at Gbugbu in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The kidnappers have however reached out to the family of the businessman, demanding N200 million for his release.

According to information, Alhaji Abbas last Friday’s kidnap was his second experience with the bandits having narrowly escaped being kidnapped recently by armed men.

Residents said the victims were kidnapped around 7:20 p.m. along the Gbugbu–Ndeji Road, while returning home from work.

They hinted that the assailants, who were on motorcycles, shot several bullets into the air to disperse witnesses and forced their victims to park by the side.

“After forcing them to oark, the kidnappers seized the victims and set their vehicle ablaze before fleeing away with them,” an eyewitness recounted.

Residents who witnessed the aftermath of the attack stated that the bandits retreated into a nearby forest, believed to be their hideout.

The community has however appealed to security agencies and the state government to intervene and address the growing insecurity in Edu Local Government.

An eyewitness, (names withheld), expressed fears about the potential impact on farming activities.

“We are entering the rainy season, and our farmers need to go to their farmlands,” the eyewitness stated lamenting; “If this insecurity continues to loom over us, it will force us to abandon our farms, which will have severe consequences for our community,”

The police is yet to issue an official statement on the incident, as efforts to reach the spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, yesterday proved abortive.