Three persons comprising two teachers and a nurse abducted along Irele-Oke Ako Road in the Ajoni Local Council Development Area on Monday regained their freedom from the kidnappers on Wednesday evening after payment of ransom.
Sources at Oke Ako said that the principal of a secondary school in the area, who was kidnapped alongside the three persons, had escaped from the kidnappers’ den on Tuesday when the gunmen fell asleep.
A source said that one of the captured teachers, who had attempted to escape from the kidnappers in the manner the principal escaped, was recaptured and made to pay a ransom before his release with the remaining two.
The four persons, who were on the road in the principal’s car after closing from work were waylaid by the gunmen and taken away into the forest leaving the car on the road.
Following the arrest, a combined team of security operatives including the army, police, Amotekun Corps, Vigilante, hunters and operatives of the LCDA’s Operation Eradicate Bandit at the Borders of Rural Ajoni Communities, rose to the occasion by combing the forests in a bid to set the captives free and arrest the culprits.
A community source said that the efforts paid off on Wednesday when two of the kidnap suspects were arrested shortly after they had set free the three victims in their den.
The Chairman of Ajoni LCDA, Michael Ogungbemi, who corroborated the source, said, “The JTF succeeded in apprehending two suspects, who are now undergoing interrogation and investigation by the police. They were nabbed inside the sprawling forest at Irele – Kogi border area.
“When the kidnappers knew that the operation was closing in on them, they quickly released three victims in their den. This further provided a lead for the operation. Part of the ransom collected from the victims was recovered and the released victims are now in the hospital receiving medical treatments,” Ogungbemi said.
The Commandant, Ekiti State Amotekun Corps, Brig Gen. Joe Komolafe (retd.), who confirmed the arrest, said that the suspects were in police custody, while the freed victims had received adequate treatment in the hospital.
“I can confirm to you that two suspects arrested are being held by the police. Regarding the freed victims, they were initially taken to the hospital, but they have reunited with their respective families,” he stated.
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