Gunmen have abducted four truck drivers from a farm on the outskirt of Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
Police said that the victims were kidnapped by gunmen allegedly dressed in military uniform at a site where they went to collect sand which they wanted to supply to their customers.
The victims are said to be members of the Oyun garage branch of the Association of Quarry and Sand dealers, Ilorin.
The kidnappers later contacted their families and demanded a ransom of N20m for the four drivers.
Spokesperson for the police in the state, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, who confirmed the incident on Wednesday, January 18, said that the Command was on top of the situation.
Okasanmi said that the Police in conjunction with another security outfit including Vigilantes and local hunters have been dispatched to all the forests in the state.
“The kidnapping incident was true, four Tipper Lorry drivers were kidnapped. Police in collaboration with other security agencies, Vigilante men and hunters have been dispatched to scout all the forest in the state but we are yet to sight any of the drivers. Our search still continues in the bush and I know that we will succeed. We are going to rescue them,” he said.
“My appeal to members of the public is that they should continue to give us information which will make us succeed in our assignment”, the PPRO added.
He however said that two suspects have been arrested and they are helping the Police in their investigation.
Meanwhile, wives of the drivers on Wednesday, in Oyun area of Sango-Kwara state Polytechnic road, Ilorin solicited alms from commuters and passersby to raise money to meet the N20m ransom demand of the kidnappers.
One of the women, Aishat, said that they took to begging to raise money to meet the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
She appealed to philanthropists and public-spirited people to come to their aid so that their husbands would be free from the den of the kidnappers.