Armed Group Kidnap 2 In Southwest Nigeria

Two residents were reportedly kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, Southwest Nigeria on Monday. 

The two victims of the incident, which occurred at a quarry site located along Ijebu-Ode/Ibadan road, are Ismail Adeoye, a staff member of Polaris Bank and Popoola Isaac, a construction worker with RCC. 

According to residents, the incident occurred when the kidnappers stormed the company located at Dalli village. 

While confirming the incident to newsmen on Tuesday, Olugbenga Fadeyi, Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, explained that efforts to secure the release of the victims had been intensified. 

This incident follows a recent surge in cases of kidnappings across the country. 

Last month, a student in the sociology department of the University of Ibadan (UI), Odetunde Emmanuel was abducted by gunmen while working at his father’s poultry farm at Apete area of Ibadan, Oyo capital.

He was released three days after the payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom by his family. 

Humangle reported that an analysis of data from the Nigeria Security Tracker showed that 1,097 persons in Nigeria were victims of abduction in the last one month. 

The unusually high number was recorded between Feb. 15 and March 12, according to the data-collection platform run by the Council on Foreign Relations. The incidents spanned 22 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The data also revealed that at least 729 people lost their lives to insecurity in the country, including 383 civilians and 62 security agents.

The highest rate of kidnapping was recorded in Zamfara where 387 people were victims, followed by Niger (377), Katsina (145), and Kaduna (69). All four of the hardest-hit states are in Northwest Nigeria except Niger, which is located in the north-central region.

Other states that had a high number of abduction victims in the period were Borno (31), Delta (26), Kogi (8), and Taraba (8).