Herdsmen Collect N2.2m Ransom from Kidnapped Customs, NDLEA Officers, Others’ Families

Suspected Fulani herdsmen last week abducted six Abuja-bound passengers in Akunnu, in the Akoko North Local Government Area of Ondo State.

PUNCH Metro reported that the victims had boarded a Sienna SUV at Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos State, around 9am last Tuesday.

The vehicle was said to have been intercepted by the gun-wielding hoodlums around 1pm.

Among the victims were officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

A retiree and a female student were also said to have been taken captive by the gunmen, who reportedly threatened to kill anyone who refused to cooperate with them.

The herdsmen led the passengers and driver into a forest, where they held them captive for five days, and demanded N5m ransom from the families of the victims.

The captives, after they were paid N2.2m, the gunmen freed the captives on Saturday.

One of the victims, Segun Obisanya, who retired from the Federal Civil Service in June this year, said the hoodlums took advantage of the bad road to abduct them.

He said during the five days that they were in captivity the herdsmen fed them with half-cooked yam stolen from other people’s farms.

Obisanya stated, “When we got to Akunnu, Ondo State, there were potholes on the road and the driver had to slow down. It was at that point that the herdsmen came out of the bush. They were 11 in number and were heavily armed. Two of them had cutlasses, while the others had guns. They blocked our vehicle from the front and the back and began shooting into the air.

“They led us into the bush. We were six in number, including a lady, who should be about 24 years old.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident.

“They (victims) have all been released. But we are still investigating the matter. That is all we can say for now. We don’t know those who did it, because none of them has been arrested,” Joseph told our correspondent.