Gunmen kidnap UBEC official in Ondo

A 45-year-old official of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC), Abuja, Mr. Femi Adesote, has been kidnapped by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen near Auga in Akoko Northeast Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The victim was returning from Abuja with his aged father and younger sister, who accompanied their father, when the incident happened.

The victim’s father, Samuel Adesote, reportedly travelled to Abuja on the invitation of his son to receive medical treatment.

A source said the four kidnappers waylaid them and abducted the victim.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ikare, Adeniyi Agboola, was said to have mobilised his men to comb Auga forest with other security agents to rescue the victim and arrest the suspects.

The Area Commander in Akoko, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Razak Rauf, assured residents that the criminals would be flushed out of Auga forest.

He said the victim’s vehicle, a BMW with number plate ABJ RSH 862 DV, has been moved to the police headquarters in Ikare-Akoko.

Auga-Akoko’s monarch Oba Samuel Agunloye, whose driver and wife were kidnapped last year, said but for a brief delay, she and the driver would have again fallen victim yesterday.

He urged the police to establish a station at Auga, while soldiers should be stationed at a checkpoint in the town, to tighten security.