Hundreds of women stormed the streets of Akure, the Ondo state capital, to protest the alleged kidnap of nine surveyors at the Ilu Abo community in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.

The abducted surveyors were said to have been kidnapped by some unknown gunmen who allegedly attacked them while working in a forest in the local government.

Punch reports that four communities in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State were allegedly attacked by some armed men suspected to be bandits in the early hours of Saturday.

The affected communities are Aba Alajido, Aba Sunday, Aba Pastor, and Ademekun communities in the Akure North LG, and it was gathered that scores of people living in the communities were killed in the midnight attack.

The protesters, with leaves in their hands, converged on the Ijemikin area of the state capital and walked to the state government secretariat, Alagbaka, chanting various solidarity songs to express their dissatisfaction over the recent spate of insecurity in the state.

One of the protesters, Mrs Oluwatoyin Arowosafe, who spoke with journalists during the protest, stated that some of them were relatives of the kidnapped surveyors, saying the kidnappers have contacted the families and demanded a sum of N100million for their release.

?We want to call on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to come to our rescue. Our men have been kidnapped since last week Tuesday, and the kidnappers have been demanding N100 million to release them, which we could not afford.?

Addressing the protesters on behalf of the governor, the Special Adviser on Union Matters and Special Duties to Governor Aiyedatiwa, Mr Bola Taiwo, blamed the nine kidnapped surveyors for going to the site without security operatives.

He blame? them for collecting huge amounts of money from their client and failing to spend money on their security.

Taiwo said, ?We shall speak with your leaders if they have reported the incident to the police. If they have not reported to the police, they should go there. That?s when the government would act. Nowadays, any surveyors going to site should go with police escorts, if they do, no gunmen would abduct them. No one can kidnap anyone without internal collaborators.

?You shall now go back to Ilu-Abo and cry out that those who abducted the surveyors should release them. No Hausa or Fulani man can come to Ilu-Abo and kidnap with the convenience of one of the natives. It is your people that kidnapped the nine surveyors. We will meet with your leaders and discuss with them.?

Efforts to reach out to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, could not be reached as her telephone line was not reachable when filing this report. (The PUNCH)

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