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Unknown gunmen have reportedly invaded a hotel in Ajaawa, the headquarters of Ogo Oluwa Local Government Area of Oyo State, and abducted the hotelier, Mr Olukunle Oyedokun, his nursing wife, Juliana, the infant, five other close relatives including his other children and a guest at the hotel.
According to The Punch, two other guests were able to escape from the gunmen in the incident that happened around 10.30pm on Saturday.
A police source confirmed the incident at the hotel, but said the number of victims could not be ascertained for now.
The source said family members gave conflicting figures to the police,adding that while some mentioned seven, some said it was just two persons that were abducted.
The gunmen were said to have started shooting sporadically to create fear in the minds of people immediately they invaded the hotel located at the back of CAC Primary School, Lagbedu Road, before whisking their targets away.
It was gathered that Oyedokun was preparing for a burial ceremony coming up this weekend and other family members had arrived in the town to start preparations for the ceremony.
The kidnappers were said to have already made contact with the family members of the victims to demand N15 million as ransom.
But another source said the ransom had been reduced to N2.5 million, noting that the family members are still running around to raise the money.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Mr Adewale Osifeso, could not be reached by for comments.
However, residents said the police, Amotekun Corps and hunters had started combing the bushes in search of the kidnappers and their victims.
The National President of Soludero Hunters, Nureni Ajijolaanobi, confirmed the incident.
He said members of Soludero Hunters, policemen and others were making moves to rescue the victims.
Ajijolaanobi also called on Governor Seyi Makinde to make vehicles and other logistics available to members of the Joint Security Task Force he created to make their work effective.
He said hunters had been using their personal vehicles and money to carry out their operations.