•eight farmers kidnapped within a week
The traditional ruler of Uso in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo state, Oba Ademola Oyinbade, has raised alarm over the spate of kidnappings in the community, saying no fewer than eight farmers have been abducted in their farms in the last week.
The monarch who raised the alarm lamented that farmers have abandoned their farms over fear of being kidnapped by armed men who invaded the forest in the community
Oba Oyinbade explained that some of the farmers cannot access their farms to harvest their farm produce despite the fact that the produce are due for harvest, saying the armed men have turned the community into a ghost town.
He said it was becoming highly ridiculous that on a daily basis, kidnap incidents have taken over the town while ransoms were paid to secure the release of the victims.
He said “farmers are no longer safe going to farms because of the activities of these men of the underworld operating in Uso these days, we have experienced at least eight kidnap incidents in the last week”
He expressed dismay over the mode of operation of the kidnappers, nothing that apart from collecting ransom, they usually demand packets of tramadol tablets, cartons of milk, crates of malt drinks, eggs, beverages and other materials.
According to him, one of the victims while recounting his ordeal in the hands of the kidnappers, said the kidnappers informed them that they would only leave the area after collecting money to replace their seized weapons by security operatives during a raid.
The monarch, however, appealed to the state government to deploy security agents to Uso in order to prevent these men from operating freely without any hindrance in the Uso community and its environment.
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