Two farmers have been abducted by suspected gunmen in Parubber Community, Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, with their abductors reportedly demanding N100 million for their release.
The victims were allegedly attacked while working on their farms on Monday and taken into a nearby forest, according to a family source.
A third farmer, Pastor Yemi Omowale, who escaped the incident, said the matter had been reported to the police and the Ondo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun.
Omowale, who runs a piggery along the Ondo-Ife Road in Parubber Community, said he was at the farm with others when the attack occurred.
“I run a piggery farm in Parubber Community along Ondo-Ife Road in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area. We went there in the morning to feed the animals,” he said.
He said the incident happened around midday while they were working outside the farm.
“Between 12 noon and 1 p.m. on Monday, we were working outside when I saw a masked man carrying an AK-47 moving towards one of the victims, Adetan Adebanjo Gbemi, because we were not standing together,” Omowale recounted.
According to him, the kidnappers have since contacted the wife of one of the abducted farmers and demanded N100 million in exchange for the victims’ release.
“They have been calling the victim’s wife to ask how much she has been able to raise. We are appealing to the security agencies and the government to help rescue our brother and sister unharmed,” Omowale said.
Confirming the abduction, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Jimoh Abayomi, said the Oke-Igbo Divisional Headquarters received a report concerning the disappearance of the two farmers.
Abayomi said security operatives had been deployed to the area as part of efforts to locate the victims and track down their abductors.
He said the operation involves police personnel, including members of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, as well as Amotekun operatives, local hunters and vigilantes.
“Search and rescue operations are currently ongoing, with all available operational and intelligence resources being deployed to locate the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice,” the police spokesperson said.
Abayomi added that the security agencies were intensifying efforts to secure the safe release of the victims and arrest those responsible for the abduction.
He appealed to residents in the area to remain calm and share any credible information that could assist the search operation with the nearest police formation.
The command, he added, remained committed to rescuing the abducted farmers unharmed and ensuring that those behind the incident are brought to justice.