The abductors of the four missing students of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Kogi State and the driver of their vehicle, have demanded the sum of N16 million as ransom.
The group of gunmen abducted their victims along Akunnu-Ajowa Road in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State on Friday, NIGERIACRIME gathered.
According to reports, the students were on their way home to spend the festive season with their families when the hoodlums reportedly waylaid them on the road and dragged them into the bush.
The gunmen were said to have contacted the families of the victims to demand for a ransom of N16 million for their release a few hours after abducting the students.
A source in Ajowa Akoko Community said, “The kidnappers of the victims have contacted their families and they are demanding N3m for the release of each of the students and N4m for the driver.”
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Also speaking, a community leader and former Vice Chairman to Akoko North-West Local Government, Mr Ajayi Bakare, who confirmed the incident, said the driver of the vehicle had been warned by the parents of the students not to take the route where they were kidnapped, as the route was notorious for kidnapping and armed robbery.
The Ikare Area Commander of the Ondo State Police Command, Muri Agboola, who confirmed the incident, said his men had been combing the forests along the Akunnu-Ajowa Akoko Road to rescue the abducted students.
Meanwhile, a midnight fire on Saturday razed the timber market on Whetheral Road in Owerri, Imo State.
Residents were sighted counting their loses at the scene of the outbreak.
Some of the victims said that the fire started at about 1am and destroyed valuable goods before their owners arrived.
One of them said, “We called firefighters. They came with just a tank of water. The fire was too much and they couldn’t quench it. They left and told us that their water was finished. Several hours later, they have not returned. As you can see, the fire is still causing further damage.”