Gunmen on Tuesday evening kidnapped eight people in Itapaji-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
It was learned that the abductors had contacted one of the victims’ family members, yesterday morning, and demanded N50 million ransom.
Four people were kidnapped last Friday in Ayebode-Ekiti, in the same council area.
An eyewitness said the gunmen had stormed a house located in the town at about 9:30 in the evening, shot sporadically into the air for more than one hour, and eventually took away eight occupants of the building.
The eyewitness disclosed that the owner of the building was preparing for his mother’s burial and the preparations were said to have been in top gear when the gunmen struck.
“The men numbering seven came around 9.30 pm with guns and surrounded the building. They fired gunshots sporadically.
“As the occupants of the house were coming out, they were grabbed and made to lie face down. They were later taken away into the bush. There were 14 initially, but six of them escaped into the bush.
“Early today (yesterday), one of the family members received a call from the abductors and demanded a ransom of N50 million.”
The source blamed the lack of police stations in the Itapaji-Ayebode and Irele-Oke Ako axes for increasing cases of kidnapping in the area, noting that the nearest police station is in Ikole Ekiti, which is over 40 minutes drive to the troubled spots.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, Sunday Abutu, confirmed the incident.
