Residents of Owo, headquarters of Owo Local Council of Ondo State, were thrown into panic following separate attacks by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in different parts of the ancient town.

The heavily armed gunmen targeted a pastor and a family of four in apparent attempts to abduct them.

At the Ojana area of the community, six armed men invaded the residence of Pastor Taiwo, a community leader, at about 7:00 p.m. and attempted to abduct him.

However, after members of his family raised the alarm, security operatives from the B Division of the Nigeria Police swiftly responded and foiled the abduction attempt following a gun battle with the suspects.

The gunmen reportedly fled into a nearby bush, abandoning their victim, who was subsequently rescued unharmed.

In a separate incident at about 11:30 p.m., another gang of kidnappers invaded the home of 39-year-old Daniel Ologun in Gbegun Community, along Alhaja Camp, off Housing Estate, Owo, and shot him in the left leg.

The attackers then abducted his 34-year-old wife, Taibat, and their two children, aged four and two, and whisked them into a nearby forest.

Following a distress call by residents, security operatives, including personnel of the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Army, launched a pursuit of the kidnappers into the forest.

The victims were rescued unharmed in the early hours of yesterday after the abductors abandoned them in the bush and fled.

Confirming the incidents, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, said security operatives had commenced intensive combing of adjoining forests to track down the fleeing suspects.

He commended the officers involved in the rescue operations and reassured residents of the command’s commitment to combating kidnapping and other violent crimes across the state.