Suspected gunmen have kidnapped two farmers from Parubber Community in the Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, with the abductors demanding N100 million for the safe return of the victims.
A family source said the two farmers were seized on Monday while working on their farms and were marched into an adjoining forest by the attackers.
Eyewitness Account of the Attack
Pastor Yemi Omowale, a fellow farmer who narrowly escaped the abduction, described how the ordeal unfolded between noon and 1 p.m. on Monday. Omowale, who runs a piggery farm in Parubber Community along the Ondo-Ife Road, said he spotted one of the assailants approaching a victim before he could raise an alarm.
"Between 12 noon and 1 p.m. on Monday, we were working outside when I saw a masked man carrying an AK-47 moving towards one of the victims, Adetan Adebanjo Gbemi, because we were not standing together," he said.
Omowale confirmed that the incident had already been reported to both the Nigeria Police and the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun.
Kidnappers Contact Victim's Family
According to Omowale, the abductors have since made contact with the family of one of the victims, repeatedly calling the man's wife to find out how much money she has been able to gather towards the ransom.
"They have been calling the victim's wife to ask how much she has been able to raise. We are appealing to the security agencies and the government to help rescue our brother and sister unharmed," he said.
The identity of the second victim was not disclosed in available accounts. Security agencies in Ondo State had not publicly commented on the abductions at the time of this report.
