In Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, gunmen thought to be kidnappers attacked a commercial bus, hurting three passengers, and reportedly kidnapped others.
On Monday evening, May 15, 2023, the incident happened along the Iju/Itaogbolu/Ikere-Ekiti road.
According to reports, the commercial driver and his passengers were travelling from Ado-Ekiti to Akure, the seat of Ondo State, when a group of gunmen, believed to number five, opened fire sporadically. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a ditch.
Several of the injured passengers who were left behind, according to sources, are currently receiving medical care at a private hospital in Ikere, Ekiti.
“Three passengers in the car managed to escape with gunshot wounds. We are unable to comment specifically on the other three, but rumours have it that the gun drove them into the bush, according to a source who spoke to the PUNCH.
One of the injured passengers, who identified himself as a civil servant and recounted his ordeal, claimed that he had boarded the vehicle travelling from Ado-Ekiti to Akure at approximately 4:30 pm on a fateful day.
He described how the gunmen ambushed them at a demolished section of the road in Ondo State between Ikere-Ekiti and Iju.
Sunday Abutu, a spokesperson for the Ekiti State Command, confirmed the incident but claimed it was an attempted robbery.
The PPRO said, “It was not a kidnapping incident, but we are still looking into it because we are looking at an attempted armed robbery.”
“The attack left about three people hurt, but there have been no reports of kidnappings of tourists. In order to ensure that those responsible for the act are brought to justice, an investigation has been launched as ordered by the state's commissioner of police, Dare Ogundare, to treat those who were injured.
Brigadier Joe Komolafe, the Commandant of the amotekun Corps in Ekiti State, also confirmed the incident and stated that his men and other sister security agencies were searching the local bush to safely rescue the victims.