In a chilling escalation of banditry in Kwara State, a prominent petrol dealer, Alhaji Abbas, and his manager, Abubakar Issa, were brutally kidnapped by gunmen suspected to be bandits on Thursday evening, sending shockwaves through the Gbugbu community in Edu Local Government Area.
The brazen attack occurred around 7:20 p.m. along the Gbugbu–Ndeji Road as the victims were returning home from work. Eyewitnesses described a harrowing scene as the assailants, armed and riding motorcycles, opened fire indiscriminately into the air to disperse onlookers before forcibly dragging Abbas and Issa from their vehicle.
Sources disclosed to SaharaReporters that the gunmen carted away an undisclosed sum of cash found with the victims before setting their vehicle ablaze in a fiery spectacle that lit up the evening sky, sending a clear message of terror.
In a twist that has left many in disbelief, the abductors have since contacted the victims’ families, issuing a chilling ransom demand of N200 million for their release. The outrageous demand has further heightened fear and anxiety in the community, which has long struggled with worsening security conditions.
Tragically, this isn’t Alhaji Abbas’s first encounter with such horror. He had previously survived a similar attack by suspected bandits, underlining a troubling pattern of targeted assaults in the area.
Despite frantic calls for action, the spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, remained silent, failing to respond to inquiries posted on the command’s official WhatsApp platform at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, residents of Gbugbu and surrounding communities are gripped by fear and frustration. Many have decried the alarming spate of insecurity and are calling on the state and federal governments to deploy urgent, decisive measures to rescue the victims and prevent further bloodshed.
“The roads are no longer safe. We are at the mercy of these criminals,” a local youth leader lamented. “If a respected businessman like Alhaji Abbas can be taken in broad daylight, then none of us is safe.”
The disturbing incident adds to the growing list of abductions and violent attacks plaguing Kwara and other parts of Nigeria, as citizens continue to grapple with the tragic consequences of a deteriorating security landscape.
What action is the Kwara State Government taking to stem this tide of terror?
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