Gunmen Abduct Man Whose Family Was Kidnapped In January, Shoot Another In Kwara Community
Suspected herdsmen launched a late-night attack on Odo-Eku community in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State, abducting a man identified as Duku and shooting another victim.
The incident, which occurred on Tuesday night, has thrown the community into panic as residents fear further attacks.
Speaking to SaharaReporters on Thursday, Elder Ogundeji, the Odofin of Odo-Eku, confirmed the attack and said the victim, Duku, hails from Niger State and belongs to the Dukawa ethnic group.
According to Ogundeji, the gunmen stormed the home of the victim, shooting indiscriminately and whisking him away.
“They kidnapped one person on Tuesday night after they invaded Odo-Eku,” Ogundeji said.
“They shot one person. It was around 1:30 am that we took him to Adeyemo Hospital in Omu-Aran, where he was treated for the gunshot injury.”
Ogundeji further disclosed that the kidnappers have already reached out to the family of the abducted victim, “demanding N11 million as ransom for his release”.
“The family pleaded that they didn’t have such an amount. They kidnapped the wife and child before. In January, gunmen stormed his house and kidnapped four people, including his wife. He sold his properties and cows to get the ransom to secure their release. Now they came and kidnapped him,” he said.
Ogundeji told SaharaReporters that the abductors beat the victim during a call to his family, during which he pleaded with them to raise the ransom or risk his execution.
“They were beating him when he called his family members, begging them to find money and get him released,” Ogundeji added.
“The abductors were threatening to kill him if they failed to deliver the ransom.”
Efforts by SaharaReporters to contact the spokesperson of the Kwara State Police Command, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, were unsuccessful, as she neither answered phone calls nor responded to WhatsApp messages.
On January 15, 2025, SaharaReporters reported that gunmen abducted five individuals, including a mother and her daughter, in Odo-Eku community.
At the time, Ogundeji told SaharaReporters that the assailants stormed the residences of the victims overnight and abducted five people.
“The victims are of the Hausa tribe who reside in Odo-Eku for farming. Among the five victims are a woman, her daughter, another woman who came to visit them, and two men,” he said in January.
“The police just left Odo-Eku. We took them to the scene of the incident, and they promised to investigate and rescue the victims.”
