Gunmen have reportedly demanded N35m ransom for the release of school officials abducted along Auga-Ise Road in the Akoko East Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The victims are the principal of the Auga Community Grammar School, Mr Joshua Adeyemi, the Vice Principal, Mr Ifedayo Yesufu, a teacher of the school, Mrs Oloyede Bukola as well as two NPower teachers in the school, Mrs Adagunodo Funmilayo and Mrs Blessing Okeke.

According to a source, the five victims were in a Toyota Corolla car with the number plate LSD 297AH when the hoodlums accosted them on the road and whisked them into the forest.

However, it was gathered that one of the victims, Blessing Okeke, who was pregnant was released following her condition but others were still in the kidnappers’ den.

The wife of the abducted school principal, Mrs Helen Adeyemi, said it was Okeke that broke the news to her, adding that her husband’s vehicle was abandoned at the spot where they were kidnapped.

Helen said the abductors had contacted the family and demanded N35m to secure the release of her husband, lamenting that the amount was too outrageous.

Confirming the incident the Divisional Police Officer for Ikare Division, Mr Oladutoye Akinwande, disclosed that police had removed the abandoned car, adding that his men were combing the forest to apprehend the criminals and free the victims.

Meanwhile, a kidnap suspect, Ayo Samuel, arrested in connection with the abduction of a Deeper Life pastor, Otamayomi Ogendengbe, inside the church at Irese Community in the Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, has revealed his role in the crime.

Ogendengbe was abducted in May 2021 during the church’s evening service. He, however, regained freedom after a ransom was paid to the hoodlums.

Samuel, arrested by the police, confessed in a viral video. The police command where the suspect was being interrogated was not reflected in the video.

In his confession, the 59-year-old suspect disclosed that a member of the church masterminded the cleric’s abduction, after he (the member) told him that the pastor had money.

He said five of them participated in the act and that they took the victim to Ekiti State where they kept him until the ransom was paid.

He said, “I was given N1m (from the ransom). I bought a motorcycle but it was stolen after one month. I used the money judiciously.”

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