After eating ‘eba’, gunmen abduct Ogun clerics

Daredevil gunmen have abducted two Islamic clerics in Ayetoro along Ayetoro-Abeokuta road in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The five-man gang of kidnappers whisked away Hussein AbdulJelil and his friend, Ilyas Muhammed Jamiu, after hoodlums had eaten food prepared at the residence of the victims.

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It was gathered that the incident occurred on Saturday around 10pm shortly after they arrived from a public lecture.

The elder brother of one of the victims, Hussein Ibrahim, on Monday, said the kidnappers took their time to carry out the operation.

Ibrahim narrated that the kidnappers seized the phones of the occupants of the house, went to the kitchen, ate “eba” – a local delicacy- that the clerics’ wife had prepared earlier for the victims with all the meats in the soup.

He said: “It happened around 10pm when they (the clerics) were alighting from the Toyota Highlander which my brother had just bought two months ago.

“The kidnappers were five and when they came, they had laid ambush somewhere in the dark and were able to capture them immediately.

“After they took them, they marched them inside, seized our phones, went to the kitchen, took the Eba and pot of soup, ate the food and all the meats in the soup before taking them away.”

Ibrahim said the kidnappers were armed with dangerous weapons.

He however said the kidnappers had contacted the family and demanded N15 million as ransom.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident.

Oyeyemi said the police and other security agencies, including the local hunters, have begun combing the bush in the area.

He said: “Yes, we are aware. Our men have been there with others including local hunters combing the bush.

“We will get them. We have got others in Ijebu-Ode and other areas in the state. We will get them and deal with them.”