Gunmen abduct four travellers in Ekiti

Four travellers have been abducted by gunmen in Ekiti state.

The gunmen were said to have attacked two buses conveying passengers from Otun Ekiti, on Monday.

According to NAN, one of those who escaped said the gunmen took four of the passengers, while others jumped out of the vehicles and fled in different directions.

A source said some gunmen, who carried out an unsuccessful attack on Ayetoro-Ewu road on Sunday, were responsible for the abduction.

“Definitely, they are the ones who operated on Ayetoro-Ewu road on Sunday evening too,” the source said.

“That of Sunday operation was not successful, and perhaps, that is why they visited again to carry out this one.

“On that Sunday evening, they attacked commercial motorcyclists by shooting sporadically into the air to scare people.

“A commercial motorcyclist was stopped at gunpoint and they took all his valuables, while another motorcyclist escaped into the bush.”

The source said hunters in the area were told of the incident, adding that “before they got to the scene, the gunmen had driven or pushed the two buses into the bush”.

“At that point, we could not say the number of people taken into the forest, but the buses are still there as we speak,” the source said.

“I advised the hunters and security agents who arrived at the scene that the kidnappers would have gone towards the Otun Ekiti end, and that they would not have gone far that time.”

Confirming the incident, Sunday Abutu, Ekiti police spokesman, said the incident took place on the Ayetoro Ekiti-Otun Ekiti road in Moba LGA of the state.

He said the whereabouts of 32 other passengers were not yet known, adding that operatives have been deployed to track the perpetrators.

“It is true there was a kidnap on Monday morning along that axis. We heard the information and we have deployed our personnel there,” he said.

“It began on Sunday evening when some suspected robbers attacked a man who the police thereafter rescued.

“But this morning, we learnt that the suspects were the ones who abducted some road users. The police are on their trail.”