The Ondo State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of 12 passengers by suspected bandits in Isua Akoko, Akoko South-East Local Government Area, Ondo State.
The police said in a statement that the victims were abducted on Friday while travelling in two commercial Toyota Hummer buses from Benue State to Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to the police, after the armed men intercepted the vehicles, the victims were marched into a nearby forest.
Police spokesperson, DSP Jimoh Abayomi, said the Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, immediately deployed operatives alongside local hunters and other security actors to the scene.
According to him, the joint team carried out an intensive bush-combing exercise and intelligence-driven tracking of the assailants.
“The sustained pressure mounted by the combined security team yielded significant success as 12 kidnapped victims, including the drivers of the affected buses, were rescued alive,” he said.
Efforts by Daily Intel Newspaper to confirm claims that the victims had been rescued proved abortive.
