Suspected Kidnappers Kill One, Abduct Three in Kwara Cashew Merchant’s Warehouse Attack
By Bamidele Aremu
Residents of Agbe-Ola, a community within Oro town, located along the Ajase-Ipo/Omu-Aran Road in Kwara were thrown into pandemonium as suspected kidnappers launched a violent attack on a cashew nut warehouse located in the community in the early hours of Saturday.
The deadly assault left one person dead while three others abducted.
According to eyewitnesses, the serenity of the town was shattered when sporadic gunfire rented the air, sending residents fleeing in panic.
The attackers reportedly targeted the warehouse of a prominent cashew merchant, who, sources say, had recently departed with his wife for Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage.
The gunmen, believed to be bandits, stormed the facility under the cover of darkness. They met several workers at the scene, but the merchant himself was absent. In the chaos, one of the workers whose identity is yet- to- be revealed attempted to resist the kidnappers was shot and killed on the spot.
Three other individuals, believed to be staff of the warehouse, were forcefully whisked away by the attackers to an undisclosed location and their whereabouts remain unknown as of the time of this report.
Efforts to obtain an official response from the Kwara State Police Command proved abortive as the command’s spokesperson, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, did not respond to multiple calls placed to her mobile line on Saturday morning.
A text message which reads: “Good morning. From National Pilot. Am texting to get your reaction over the suspected kidnapping attack this morning where one person was killed and three abducted in a Cashew Merchant’s Warehouse At Agbe-Ola, a community within Oro town, located along the Ajase-Ipo/Omu-Aran Road.?” was sent to her line but remained unreplied as of the time of filing this report.
