Residents of Ilu-Abo community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State on Monday staged a peaceful protest over a recent surge in kidnappings, barricading the Airport–Owo Expressway and causing heavy traffic along the axis.
The protest followed the abduction of a middle-aged woman, Oladeinde Tomilola, who was kidnapped on Sunday night at the entrance of her residence.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants, believed to be armed, shot at her vehicle, damaging its fuel tank and tyres before whisking her away.
During the attack, two neighbours who raised the alarm and attempted to intervene were shot, one in the head and another in the stomach.
Both victims were rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency medical treatment.
Additionally, a woman and her 11-year-old daughter passing through the area reportedly sustained varying degrees of injuries from the gunfire.
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Angered by the incident, protesters, comprising youths, women, and community leaders, trooped out early on Monday, blocking the major highway with logs, stones, and other objects while chanting solidarity songs and demanding urgent government intervention to address the worsening security situation.
Confirming the incidents, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Jimoh, said the attacks occurred in separate but related cases.
According to him, six armed men, whose identities are yet to be known, ambushed and opened fire on one John Ofuduwa while he was driving into his residence in a Toyota Camry saloon car with Abuja registration number GWA 674 CM, during which he sustained a gunshot injury.
“In another instance, a middle-aged woman, Oladeinde Tomilola, who was also about to enter her compound, was abducted by the attackers,” Jimoh said, adding that two other persons, a woman and her 11-year-old daughter, were injured by stray bullets.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, CP Adebowale Lawal, visited the community on Monday to assess the situation and engage with residents.
According to the police spokesperson, the commissioner “condemned the attack in strong terms and reassured residents that existing security frameworks have been reinforced with additional tactical and intelligence-driven measures to ensure the swift arrest of the perpetrators and to forestall any future occurrence.”
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