The Osun State Police Command on Monday confirmed that it foiled an attempt to kidnap 13 passengers in collaboration with local hunters.
One of the victims identified as Ewaoluwa told The Sun that they boarded a bus at Ilesa Garage, Osogbo, around 1:30 pm on Monday when the abductors stopped the driver and took them to the bush.
“I met five men with some ladies inside the bus. We moved after the bus was full but on getting to a place, the men told the driver to pack for them to urinate. When they got down, they asked others inside the bus if we were not going to come down and urinate. We told them we are mature to know if we want to urinate. Later, one of them told the driver that one of the car tires has run out of air. The driver got down and the other people on the bus also came down.
“As soon as we touch down, the men bring out guns and asked us to move inside the bush. We trekked for some minutes inside the bush until the men stopped us and asked us to bring out whatever valuables we had with us.
“We were doing that when suddenly, we heard the siren of the police and this scared the gunmen. They ran away and left us there,” the victim narrated.
The spokesperson of the police in the state, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident, adding that the victims were rescued with a joint operation of the police and hunters.