A group of 18 passengers who were abducted while traveling along the Isua Akoko-Abuja highway in Ondo State have been successfully rescued by a collaborative effort of the state’s joint security agencies.
Chief Adetunji Adeleye, the Ondo State Commander of the security outfit known as Amotekun, confirmed in Akure that the victims have been reunited with their families, bringing an end to their harrowing ordeal.
Adeleye said, “On June 6, we got a distress call that an 18-seater passenger bus with number plate EKP263 LG coming from Kogi State towards Ondo State was waylaid by men suspected to be kidnappers along Eti-Osa near Isua.
“Our men, both the tactical team from the headquarters and the Isua local government coordinator, moved immediately to the scene and started a manhunt for the victim.
” Two female victims and the conductor were left behind when they were pursued
“Men of the Nigerian Army and the Police, in a joint effort with the local hunters, pursued them over the night.
“By 6 a.m. the following morning, 13 others were rescued in the thick forest between Kogi and Ondo state boundaries through the combined efforts of the men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, the Nigeria Police, and officers and men of the 32 Artillery Brigade who joined in the operation.
“The 18 rescued have since been profiled and joined their families.”
Meanwhile, speaking on the rescue mission, the state police command spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami, said that one of the suspected kidnappers was killed in a gun duel.
Odunlami said that the traveller’s bus was waylaid by the gunmen, dragged out of the bus, and marched into the forest.
“It was like a movie when 13 passengers on an Abuja-bound bus were waylaid by some unknown gunmen at Isua, the headquarters of Akoko South East Local Government, and they marched them to the forest, leaving only three of the passengers.”
The victims, the source said were rescued at Ikakumo, which is a distance of almost 20 kilometres from where they were kidnapped
”The joint security agents immediately embarked on combing the forest, and their efforts yielded fruitful results.
Odunlami said one of the suspected kidnappers was shot dead during a gun battle.
