Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
The abductors of Mr. Felix Akinde, a commercial driver who was abducted on Akure-Ikere road on Wednesday have demanded for N5million ransom.
Akinde was abducted on Wednesday at the Iju/Itaogbolu axis of the road in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The gunmen abandoned the vehicle by the roadside and took the victim to an unknown location.
Motorists traveling on same routes immediately reported the case to the police who later moved the car to the Iju Divisional Police Station.
On Thursday, it was learned that the abductors established contact with the family and leaders of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state for the ransom.
It was gathered that men of the Anti Kidnapping Squad of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Owena Barracks, Akure, in collaboration with other sister security agencies have launched a
manhunt for the abductors in the forest in Iju town.
A family source, who pleaded not to be named, said that the kidnappers contacted the families through their telephone lines.
He explained that the abductors were demanding a ransom of N5 million before they would set the driver free.
“They said that he (driver) was in the bush with them and would only free him when we were ready to cooperate on the ransom. As I speak with you, they have already used two different telephone lines to contact us demanding to know how much we have been able to raise,” the source
added.
Also, one of the executive members of NURTW in Ondo State confirmed that the abductors had contacted the union and demanded a ransom.
However, the Police Public Relation Officers (PPRO) for the state police command, Mr Femi Joseph, said that the officers of the command had already swung into action and would soon arrest the perpetrators.