Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers struck along the Obbo-Aiyegunle/Osi road in Kwara State over the weekend, abducting seven passengers traveling in a commercial vehicle headed for Offa. The attack happened in the Ekiti Local Government Area, causing panic among residents and travelers.
According to reports, the passengers were journeying from Abuja in a Sienna bus marked KW FFA 50 XD and branded with “Olumoh Bus,” a transport company operating out of Offa. The assailants, said to number around eight, ambushed the vehicle in the evening hours of Saturday, April 19, and forced it to a stop at gunpoint.
Eyewitness accounts revealed that the gunmen quickly dragged seven individuals, including the driver, into the nearby forest, leaving behind three children who were also in the vehicle. The entire incident lasted for about twenty minutes before the attackers vanished with their captives.
Mr. Mukaila Ogunlade, the secretary of the transport company, confirmed the disturbing event, stating, “The incident truly happened. In fact, we are just coming from Osi Police Station. The bus left the park with five passengers, but the oldest of the children that were left behind told us that two more people later joined them on the way. Presently, we are looking for seven people.”
Kwara State Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, also confirmed the abduction. In a statement signed by the command’s spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the police noted the prompt action of officers who, along with local vigilantes, arrived at the scene and recovered the abandoned vehicle.
The statement read, “The Kwara State Police Command confirms an incident of abduction that occurred at about 1830 hrs on Saturday, April 19, 2025, along Obbo-Aiyegunle/Osi Road, Ekiti Local Government Area.”
It continued, “Armed hoodlums, numbering about eight, reportedly intercepted a Sienna bus with registration number FFA 50 XD heading to Offa from Abuja and forcefully abducted seven occupants, including the driver.
“Upon receipt of the information, Police operatives, in collaboration with local Vigilantes, responded swiftly to the scene.
“The vehicle was recovered to the nearest police formation. During a coordinated search of the surrounding bush, three children aged between 2 and 12 years were located and safely rescued.”
The statement further notes that one of the children gave police enough information to contact her guardian, and all three rescued children have now been reunited with their family members.
