A staff of Polaris Bank, one Babatunde Dauda, and a pamwine tapper, Oluwaseun Oluokun, who were among the five people that were kidnapped on Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road on Monday, March 15, 2021, have been rescued by police operatives in the State Command.
Some Fulani herdsmen, numbering about seven, had jumped from a bush on the road after Ibuso Gbooro, close to Dally Junction, by a quarry site, at about 7a.m., wielding sophisticated rifles and shooting sporadically.
Thenewsbearer gathered from a credible source that the Fulani gunmen made a blockade on the road and forced two Toyota Camry vehicles to a stop.
They had reportedly picked two bankers working with Polaris and Wema Banks from one of the cars, leaving out the driver and telling him to get in contact with the victims’ families for the payment of ransom.
They also abducted two occupants of the second vehicle and a palm wine tapper who was coming from his village to tap wine from his palm trees.
It was learnt that the bankers were on their way to their offices in Ijebu Ode, while the other car occupants were going to Ogbere, both in Ogun State.
On getting the report at Idi Ayunre police station, it was learnt that the Divisional Police Officer and police personnel from Idi Ayunre were joined by police tactical teams on the road, operatives of Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS), local vigilantes and hunters, Agbekoya and Amotekun Corps, to search the forest for the kidnappers and their victims.
They were said to have combed the forest from Monday morning till Tuesday, which brought a bit of respite, as the pressure exerted on the kidnappers made it possible to rescue the Polaris Bank staff and the palm wine tapper at Ogunmakin area, at about 1p.m., on Tuesday.
Though they did not pay any ransom, Thenewsbearer learnt that the two released victims were beaten by their captors before they were rescued.
Thenewsbearer also learnt that the expended shells found at the scene of the incident showed that the kidnappers used AK-47 rifles and guns using cartridges.
The kidnappers had yet to contact victims’ families for ransom as at Tuesday night, as they were unsettled by the police who were in hot pursuit by following their tracks.
The police had continued to comb the surrounding bush to secure freedom for those still in captive, the source said.
Just a week ago, the source said that there was a similar kidnap incident along the same road, during which three victims were abducted.
The source added that they were released after payment of N500,000 by two of the victims while the third victim was rescued by the police without any payment.
Confirming the story of the abduction, the state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Olugbenga Fadeyi, said that the police had been able to rescue two of the victims.
Fadeyi added that police operatives were still combing the forest in search of the remaining victims, and were also after the kidnappers for an arrest.
