Kidnappers of two members of staff of the Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Mr. Marcus Akinduko and Mr.Gabriel Ajayi, have demanded N50m ransom for their release.
Some gunmen abducted the two council officials, on Saturday on Owo-Idoani Road in the Ose LGA of the state while returning from an occasion at Ifira Akoko in the Akoko South East LGA.
It was also gathered that the four armed men intercepted the vehicle that conveyed the victims and three other council workers.
The hoodlums reportedly forced them to alight from the vehicle.
While the gunmen took Akinduko and Ajayi into their custody, they left three other occupants of the vehicle to go home and source for funds to pay the ransom for the victims.
However, a family source disclosed that the kidnappers had contacted the family and were demanding a sum of N50m before the victims could be freed.
"It is a huge sum and the family cannot raise the money," he added.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Femi Joseph, said the command was working towards ensuring the release of the victims.
He said, "We are still working on it, we are getting some information that is useful to us on the matter and we are working on the information. I can assure you that we will get them released."
In a related development, the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers was still sourcing N5m demanded by the abductors of its secretary, Mr. Kayode Agbeyangi, who was kidnapped along Akure/Ilesa Road in Osun State on Saturday.
Agbeyangi was reportedly kidnapped on his way to Lagos State to meet members of his family.
The union said on Monday that the victim's family had yet to raise the ransom.
The Chairman of the union in the state, Mr. Jacob Adebo, who confirmed the incident said, the Agbetangi was kidnapped on the expressway in the Ilesa area.
"He was kidnapped when he was travelling to Lagos and the kidnappers have called the family. They said the family should give them N5m before he could be released and there is no way we can get N5m," Adebo said.
