From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
Gunmen in the early hours Wednesday raided Eti Ero farmstead in Ilasa Ekiti, Ekiti East, abducting four people, local sources say.
According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen arrived at about 1:30 am to the farmstead and ransacked houses.
Sources report that a child, believed to be Yoruba, and three Ebira farmers were kidnapped.
‘The gunmen came around 1:30 am and started shooting sporadically. The gunshots generated a lot of panic and some brave people among them had to rush out of their buildings and fled into the bush,’ a source said.
‘As they were shooting, they were searching all the buildings and, in the course of doing the searching, they got hold of a child confirmed to be less than 10 years and three others who were farmers.
‘They have been taken to unknown destination and no one has been contacted as of now,’ he stated.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, ASP Sunday Abutu, said that two people, not four, were abducted.
‘Even the police have rescued one of the captives from the abductors and one person had been arrested in connection with the midnight raid.
‘Our men are searching the bushes for the only person in their custody. We assure the people of Ekiti State that we will get him rescued and the culprits will be arrested to face justice,’ Abutu said.