Six gunmen on March 22, 2021 abducted three farm managers from poultry farms at Pampo community in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State, but one of the victims managed to escape.
The kidnappers, who wore military fatigues and were carrying AK-47 rifles, invaded the farm community, located on Eyenkorin-Afon-Ogele Road, at about 4pm.
They were said to have arrived at one of the farms in a Toyota Hilux SUV, shooting sporadically into the air.
After seizing the Chief Security Officer in charge of the farm, they locked him up in a room, after which they abducted two workers from the first poultry farm.
They also abducted a manager from another farm on their way out of the community, but another farm hand who was taken later managed to escape, a reliable source said.
The bandits later contacted the farm owners, demanding N15 million as ransom for the release of each of the three victims.
One of the farm owners was said to have claimed that the kidnappers were Fulanis, going by the way they conversed with them on phone, though they spoke in Yoruba language.
“We appealed to them to accept N1 million from us for the three victims, making them to know that we are just poor farmers. But they just said that we should go and get a reasonable amount before the release of our people,” the farm owner said.
Confirming the story, the spokesman of the Kwara State Police Command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said efforts were being made by police to secure the release of the kidnap victims, and to arrest their abductors.
Okasanmi said operatives were still on the trail of the kidnappers, combing the forest to know their hideout.