Gunmen abduct cocoa farmers in Ondo demand N50m ransom per victim

BY ADETOKUNBO ABIOLA

Suspected gunmen have demanded for N100m for the release of two farmers abducted from their cocoa farm in Parubber community, Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Confirming the incident, a spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, said the police received a report of the abduction at the Oke-Igbo Divisional Headquarters.

A farmer who escaped the attack, Pastor Yemi Omowale, said the incident occurred on Monday afternoon while they were tending to their farms and livestock along the Ondo-Ife Road.

The armed assailants, one of them with an AK-47 and wearing a mask, seized their victims while working on their farms before marching them into a nearby forest.

The Daily Monitor learned that the incident was reported to the police and the Ondo State Security Network Agency,  which both launched a joint security team comprising of police operatives, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Amotekun personnel, local hunters and vigilantes in a coordinated search-and-rescue operation.

Daily Monitor learnt that the kidnappers contacted the wife of one of the victims and were demanding for a N100m naira ransom, pressurising the family over the payment.