Men suspected to be bandits have abducted four members of a family in Babanla community of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
It is said that the kidnappers had gone to the fields at five o'clock on Wednesday morning.
Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government, Femi Yusuf, confirmed this to journalists.
“How and why should any sane person go to the farm at 5 in the morning? We all know the ground situation, no one needs to tell us when it is safe to go,” he wondered.
It is learned that the attack took place in the early hours when the victims were working on their farms on the outskirts of Babanla.
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A source indicated that armed men attacked the farm unannounced and fired sporadically in the air before surrounding the family members.
The source said the attackers initially captured five people, later released an elderly man, after which they took four other family members to an undisclosed location.
However, a female source in the community (name withheld) said, “It is true that they kidnapped four family members. They were kidnapped from their farm this morning.”
Revealing that the victims were on their daily routine, he said: “They came suddenly and surrounded them. The elderly man was later freed, but four others were taken away by the bandits.”
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The identities of the kidnapped victims had not been officially confirmed at the time of filing this report.
Confirming the attack, Yusuf said, 'Yes, I know and I can't do anything about it because we have soldiers, police, surveillance teams and forest guards.
“If we still experience bandit attacks despite their presence in the area, they (security personnel) should respond.”
Recall that Babanla and other communities in the local government continue to face security challenges with residents complaining of inadequate presence of security personnel in remote areas.
Meanwhile, residents are calling on the government and security agencies to intensify patrols and deploy more personnel to vulnerable rural communities to prevent further attacks and ensure the release of kidnapped victims.
