At Ajaawa, Oyo State, a hotelier, Mr Olukunle Oyedokun, also known as Agbo, and seven of his family members, including his wife and three children, as well as a hotel guest, were kidnapped by gunmen.
Apart from Oyedokun, his wife, Busayo Oyedokun, and the baby she is nursing; his brother' s wife, Julianah Oyedokun, and her 10- year- old son, John; Oyedokun' s first child, Omoriyeba, and her daughter, six- year- old Adesewa; another Oyedokun' s child belonging to the older wife, Oluwajuwonlo; and the guest were all abducted.
The incident happened around 10 p. m. on Saturday at Agbo Hotel, which belongs to the abducted hotelier and is located behind CAC Primary School on Lagbedu Road.
The gunmen, believed to be herdsmen, fired intermittent shots into the air before kidnapping the victims and transporting them through the bush to an unknown destination.
Two of the hotel guests, on the other hand, managed to avoid being kidnapped by the kidnappers.
Before the abductors hit, the hotelier was preparing for his father' s funeral, according to Tribune Online.
His married daughters, as well as his brother' s wife, were said to be in town for the funeral.
The kidnappers reportedly called the family members on Sunday and demanded N15 million in ransom.
The requested ransom was finally negotiated down to N2. 5 million, which a source said was still being sought to guarantee the victims' freedom.
According to Tribune Online, when a police patrol team arrived on the scene after hearing gunshots, they quickly gathered some police operatives, Amotekun Corps, local hunters, and vigilante group members to begin combing the bush in search of the kidnappers and victims.
The residents of the area where the abduction took place expressed their apprehension and concern, claiming that anything like this had never happened in their neighborhood before.
Attempts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Adewale Osifeso, for comment at the time of this report were unsuccessful because his phone line was disconnected.