The Ondo Police Command has confirmed that gunmen reportedly abducted commuters travelling in an 18-passenger commercial bus belonging to GUO Motors near the boundary between Akunu-Akoko in Akoko North West Local Government Area of Ondo State and Ayere in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Tragically, the kidnappers allegedly murdered the bus driver and forcefully took all passengers into a nearby bush, leaving behind a young girl.
Subsequently, other travellers passing through the area discovered the abandoned bus at the roadside.
Shortly after, a response team comprising the police, Amotekun, soldiers, and local hunters arrived at the scene, initiating a search operation in the surrounding bushes.
The Spokesperson of the Ondo State Police Command, SP ‘Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, confirmed the incident in a statement released to the press in Akure, the state capital.
She highlighted that the State Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Oladipo, has promptly directed a team of officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Command to be deployed to the area.
Presently, the team is conducting extensive searches in the vicinity with the aim of rescuing the victims and bringing the perpetrators to justice.