Insecurity: Motorists stranded as protesting residents block Ondo highway
•Protest over killing of two, abduction of three•Abductors of Ondo council secretary demand N100m ransom•Police deploys tactical team to troubled Ilu-Abo community Aggrieved residents of Ilu-Abo yesterday protested on the
•Protest over killing of two, abduction of three
•Abductors of Ondo council secretary demand N100m ransom
•Police deploys tactical team to troubled Ilu-Abo community
Aggrieved residents of Ilu-Abo yesterday protested on the Akure-Owo Expressway after a fresh attack by suspected gunmen who killed two persons and abducted three others in the community.
The residents, mostly youths, paralysed vehicular activities on the expressway, causing gridlock on adjoining routes leading to the Akure Airport.
The protesters reportedly used the bodies of the victims to block the road, expressing anger over the escalating security challenges bedevilling Akure North Local Government Area.
Armed with placards bearing various inscriptions, the demonstrators lamented the insecurity.
One of the residents, simply identified as Ayobami, said the gunmen initially abducted five residents before killing two of them.
“We later found the bodies of the two victims early this morning by the roadside leading to the community,” he said.
However, the protesters insisted that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa must address them to allay their fears, stressing that farming in the communities had been crippled by insecurity.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adebowale Lawal, appealed to the protesters to allow free flow of traffic.
Lawal assured them that security agencies, including operatives of the Ondo State Security Network (Amotekun Corps) and police, would intensify efforts to ensure the safety of lives and property in the affected communities.
The police commissioner also visited the monarch of Ilu-Abo, Oba Olu Falae, where he briefed the traditional ruler on the measures being taken by security agencies to curb insecurity in the area.
He added that additional policemen and tactical units would be deployed to address the situation.
Also, abductors of the Secretary of Okeluju Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Akoko Northwest Local Government Area, Joseph Kayode Aladesuyi, have demanded a ransom of N100 million for his release.
The kidnappers reportedly established contact with the family yesterday.
barely 24 hours after Aladesuyi was abducted on his farm at Ilu-Abo.
Aladesuyi, who is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and Chief Executive Officer, Jotina Farms, was kidnapped on Monday morning.
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A family source, who spoke on condition of anonymity on the telephone yesterday, said the abductors contacted the family around 7:00 a.m. and demanded a ransom of N100 million.
According to the source, the kidnappers were brief and left little room for negotiation during the call.
“The kidnappers called this morning. They asked us to bring N100 million before they would release Aladesuyi. They spoke very shortly and hastily during the call, and they did not even allow us to say much,” the source said.
The source added that the family had been worried since the incident occurred.
“We have been very worried since yesterday, but the call has given us hope. We are still expecting that they will call again because the money is a whole lot. How do we raise that amount as a family?
“Our concern now is more about his health because we were made to understand that when they arrived on the farm, he was shot in one of his hands while they were dragging him away,” the source added.
Lawal said he had intensified operational strategies and deployed more security assets to strengthen safety in vulnerable communities, particularly in the community.
