The Ogun State Police Command on Monday said it launched a manhunt for the kidnappers of two female students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ayetoro campus, in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of Ogun state.
The victims — Adeyemo Precious and Oyefule Abiola — who were students of the Departments of Forestry and Wildlife Management, and Agricultural Economics, respectively, were abducted in front of their hostel on Sunday in the Olowu area of Ayetoro.
A source said the abductors reached out to the victims’ families and demanded N50m ransom. When asked if the abductors were herdsmen or not, the source said it was the kidnapped students that spoke to their families and not the abductors.
“It was the students that echoed the demands. We don’t know whether they are Yoruba or Fulani because the families have not heard directly from them,” he added.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the command was trailing the kidnappers and would soon get them arrested. He said, “The command is aware and has launched a manhunt for the kidnappers.
“The students were abducted around 9pm on Sunday in an isolated area. We have enlightened the students in the area to be security conscious. We will get them rescued.” He assured that the victims would be rescued without any payment of ransom.
Meanwhile, the Yewa North Patriotic Forum has called on the Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to direct the state Commissioner of Police to relocate to Yewa-North over the issue of insecurity. The group recalled that the council had been battling with herders and farmers’ crisis which had claimed many lives in the last few months.
The President of the group, Sanni Omobolaji, in a statement on Monday, noted that the Ayetoro area had not been enjoying proper policing. The state Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Adeyemi Samson, urged the state governor to visit the affected communities.