Bandits demand N3 ransom on 15 kidnapped corp members each

Following the abduction of five persons by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in Ondo State, the kidnappers have demanded N3 million ransom for each of the victims.

The kidnappers made the threat after contacting one of the families of the victims at the weekend.

The victims were kidnapped along the Ifon-Owo highway in Ose Local Government Area of the state a few days ago.

They were on their way from Enugu State, where they had undergone the mandatory orientation camp of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC before their vehicles were attacked.

During the attack, the driver of the vehicle and a female passenger were shot dead.

According to Lawal Happiness, the brother of one of the victims, who cried out over the development, the kidnappers, who had reduced the ransom to N1 million from N30 million per victim, suddenly demanded that N3 million be paid for each of the abductors.

Recounting the ordeal, he said: “My name is Lawal Happiness, a brother to the corper member kidnapped on her way back from Enugu Camp to Akure, whose name is Adewole Paul Oluwaseun, an indigene of Akure and a graduate of the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE. She was kidnapped alongside four other corp members [Oluwadara Feranmi (f), Andrew Patience (f), Oribamise Taiwo (f), and Ajayi Lekan (m)].

“After they were done with their NYSC orientation programme, they reported to their PPA accordingly in order to come home to get her stuff for proper resumption. They embarked on this journey on July 18, 2024, and left Enugu State at 9 am.

“We monitored her movement to Onitsha, where their bus was slightly delayed, and they later continued their journey to Akure. That was around 3 pm on 18th July 2024. They left Onitsha around 3 pm, got to Asaba around 5 pm, and got to Ifon by 10:15 pm. After that, we couldn’t get connected to them.

“On July 19, 2024, at 7:45 am, we got a call from the kidnapper telling us she had been kidnapped and asking for a ransom of N30 million per head. We have reported to different security agencies but without any positive results.

“As of 7 pm on July 19, they reduced it to N3 million per head, and we have been pleading for help. At 3 pm on July 20, 2024, the kidnapper agreed to N1 million per head, but as of 1 pm, on July 21, 2024, they said N3 million again. If we don’t provide that before 9 pm on July 21, 2024, they will call us to inform us where we will see their corpse.”