The groom, identified as Moses Yakubu, was abducted alongside his bride and friends while traveling for their engagement ceremony in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Suspected gunmen have abducted a soon-to-wed couple at Akunnu in Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State, a local source told SaharaReporters on Sunday.
The groom, identified as Moses Yakubu, was abducted alongside his bride and friends while traveling for their engagement ceremony in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Our correspondent learned that the couple and some other friends were journeying from Okene in Kogi State to the capital city of Akure when the gunmen waylaid their vehicle and struck with gunshots.
Family sources revealed that the engagement ceremony was to take place at Ogungbolahun Street off Agagu Road in Aule Quarters, Akure.
An Akunnu local, Temitayo Abiola, told SaharaReporters in a phone interview that the victims were kidnapped on a dangerous portion of the road in Akunnu village.
“The gunmen kidnapped the couple and their friends on the bad tiny road of the community [Akunnu] and shot in the air to scare some local community people passing at the time of the incident,” he said.
Mr. Abiola said the kidnap incident created pandemonium among the locals in the community who were trekking on the road at the time the incident occurred.
Ahmed Amodu, the bride’s father, later confirmed to a source close to SaharaReporters that his daughter was set free shortly after the abduction.
Mr. Amodu said the groom [Yakubu] who plans to marry her daughter was still being held hostage with his friends in the kidnappers’ den.
“But the groom and their friends who were also on the journey for the engagement ceremony are still trapped in the kidnappers’ den,” he told our correspondent. “Please, I am begging, join us in alerting the police over this incident because my daughter has been crying.”
Femi Joseph, spokesman of the Ondo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), confirmed the kidnap case in a phone interview with SaharaReporters.
Mr. Joseph said the officers from the anti-kidnapping squad of the police command were alerted of the incident and swung into action immediately.
He explained that the new state commissioner of police, Olugbenga Adeyanju, has been briefed and will meet with senior security heads in the state to tackle the rampant cases of kidnapping in the Akoko area.
“Yes, the incident is true. They were kidnapped on Akunnu Road in Akoko area, but our officers are now working seriously to get them freed from the den of the kidnappers.
“In fact, as I am speaking with you, our officers have been mobilized to the forest in search of them and investigation has also began on how to track these hoodlums who are now using Ondo State has their hideout,” he said.
SaharaReporters gathered that the Akoko area of the state has been a dangerous route for travelers due to the presence of kidnappers in the area.
