Gunmen kidnap petrol station manager, wife, demand N20m ransom

A petrol station manager of Bovas Petroleum and Gas in Ekiti State, Mr D. Alalade and wife have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
A source, who escaped from the scene, told newsmen in Ado Ekiti that the couple were seized at Efon Alaaye, headquarters of Efon Local Government Area of the state late on Friday.
According to the source, who pleaded not to be mentioned, the couple’s family members have been contacted about the abduction and a sum of N20 million ransom was being demanded by the abductors.
The source said the six kidnappers, with sophisticated weapons, dressed in military camouflage, waylaid the victim’s vehicle between Efon Alaaye and Erio Ekiti.
“As they waylaid their car, the occupants of the vehicle coming behind them quickly ran into the bush to take cover.
“They even shot into the air to scare us and ensure that we waited, but we ran for our  lives. We even thought they were robbers until we learnt that they have called the abductors’ family,” he said.
Before now, the thick forest between Efon Alaaye, a border town with Osun State to Iwaraja, an Ijesa town, had been branded as a black spot by security agencies.
Prominent indigenes of the state, including the State Financial Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Kayode Oni, were kidnapped in that axis recently.
Men of the Nigerian Army a couple of weeks ago also combed the bush to arrest criminals taking cover in the forest.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ekiti Command, ASP Caleb Ikechukwu, said he has yet to be briefed about the incident and promised to give details later.