Gunmen have abducted at least nine surveyors in Ondo State.
The surveyors were ambushed by armed kidnappers who had been lying in wait in the bush while working at a site along the Ilu-Abo axis in the Akure North Local Council Area.
The kidnappers contacted the families of the victims and initially demanded a N100 million ransom for their release, but later reduced the amount to N50 million after negotiations.
In response to the rising wave of kidnappings and killings, women in Akure, the state capital, staged a protest on Tuesday, March 11.
The protesters gathered at the residence of the Ejeminkin of Akure, High Chief Oluwole Omotayo, to voice their concerns. Marching from Ijemikin to the Governor’s Office at Alagbaka, the women called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to take swift and decisive action against kidnappers, killer herdsmen, and other criminals infiltrating the state.
Addressing the protesters, Bola Taiwo, the Special Adviser on Union Matters and Special Duties, who spoke on behalf of the governor, blamed the nine kidnapped surveyors for failing to hire security personnel while on site. Taiwo also accused the surveyors of collecting large sums of money from their clients but not using it to ensure their safety. He further suggested that insiders might have been involved in the abduction.
