Gunmen on Saturday abducted scores of travellers on Benin-Owo Expressway in Ifon, the headquarters of Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The number of victims could not be ascertained as some sources said the victims were over 40 while others gave their number as 32.
One of the sources at the town who disclosed the incident to newsmen on Sunday said the victims were traveling in a coastal bus from Benin to Ondo State where they went for the burial ceremony.
“But on getting to Ifon area, the hoodlums ambushed and whisked all the occupants of the vehicle into the bush.
“All the occupants of the vehicle were kidnapped since yesterday (Saturday) and nobody has heard anything about them since then,” a relation of one of the victims said.
While confirming the incident on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Ondo State Command, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, said she could not ascertain the number of the victims.
According to PPRO, men of the command and other security agencies in the state had begun the search for the victims in the forest.
” Our men and other security agencies are already in the forest to rescue the victims unhurt while the investigation into the incident has commenced,” Odunlami said.