Assailants abduct BEDC driver in Ondo State, demand N10m ransom

Abductors of Mr Seun Emmanuel, a driver at the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) have demanded N10 million as ransom.

Emmanuel was abducted on Tuesday on Owo-Ifon Road in Ondo State while on an official assignment to Akure with the company’s manager in Ondo State.

Police spokesperson in Ondo State, SP Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the abduction and said the anti-kidnap unit of the police in the state had swung into action and would ensure Emmanuel’s rescue.

“We are working on the matter. Our men at the anti-kidnap unit are working towards rescuing the victim,’’ she said.

An eyewitness who requested anonymity said the duo ran into the gunmen who barricaded the road just before Elegbeka town on the Owo-Ifon Road and shot at their BEDC-branded van.

The shooting caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle as the van’s tyre was hit and the vehicle summersaulted into the bush.

The eyewitness said the manager fell unconscious and the kidnappers took him for dead and abandoned him, but took driver away to an unknown destination.

Onlookers rescued the manager from the scene after the hoodlums had left, the eyewitness said.

‘‘The bandits whisked the driver into the bush from where they demanded an initial ransom of N100 million from his family, but later settled for N10milion,’’ the source said.