Protest Rock Ekiti Community As Bandits Kidnap Pregnant Woman, Demand Ransom

Residents of Ajebamidele area of Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State on Wednesday, September 1 moved to the road to protest the rising insecurity and the kidnap of some of their residents.

Four residents of Goshen community in Ajebamidele, Ado Ekiti, were on Tuesday, August 31, kidnapped by gunmen. The victims are said to include a man (Mr. Falomo), his pregnant wife, and a pastor.

The residents as early as 7am, took to the road with placards having various inscriptions, restricting free flow of traffic along Ado-Ikere Ekiti highway .

One of the protesters, who identified himself only as Sola, told journalists that;

“The woman (Mrs Falomo), was trailed to her residence by the AK-47-bearing kidnappers. Her husband, who came out on a rescue mission, was also abducted.

“The kidnappers fired several gunshots into the air during the attack to prevent the rescue of the victims. Some residents, who were just arriving home, fled in different directions.

“The other two victims were kidnapped as the gunmen were making their way out of the community. Policemen from the Ologede Police Station along Ikere Road arrived at the crime scene shortly after the kidnappers left.”

On his own part, the Chairman, Goshen Landlords Association, Mr Samuel Fasua, said the protest was to draw the attention of government to the incident.

He said, “According to the information gathered, the masked kidnappers were armed with AK-47 rifles, which they shot sporadically. Nobody could come out to rescue the victims because of the heavy gunfire that rocked our neighbourhood during the incident.

“Guns boomed as if the place was a war zone. The matter has already been reported to the police.”

One of the protesters, Emmanuel Ayodeji, who said his sister-in-law was among those kidnapped, disclosed that the abductors called the family to demand a ransom of N10m.

Ayodeji said, “My sister-in-law arrived home in her car and they trailed her from outside. Her husband confronted them, but he was overpowered and they abducted him as well.

“It was this (Wednesday) morning that I later got to know that two more persons were kidnapped during the attack, including a pastor and a woman.”

After the protest, security agents, including the police, soldiers and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, reportedly visited the community.

The Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, who confirmed the kidnap, said, “I can confirm to you that three persons were abducted from the community on Tuesday evening. News of the fourth person remains a rumour as there has been no complainant to that effect.

“Operatives have been deployed to rigorously comb the bush for the rescue of the victims and apprehension of the abductors.

“Meanwhile, two suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident and are currently being investigated” he added.