The Ogun State police command has reacted to a viral message claiming that the Mowe-Ofada-Owode Egba road has become a kidnappers’ den.
Saga Gist reports that unknown persons have been warning the general public to avoid the road in order not to be kidnapped.
The message reads: “Good evening all. Please, let no one come to Mowe from Abeokuta through Owode-Ofada again. Just follow the straight jacket express road. Brother Kehinde Ojo narrated the kidnap of two people by that Petrol station by the Ofada-Owode axis. One of them is Bro Kenny’s church member. He personally delivered the ransom of N6.5 million yesterday or so. That is the third kidnap in that axis. 8 Fulani herdsman did this one. We learnt that several of them have besieged that Papa area of Ofada. They are lurking in that bush now. E jowo o, keep off that side completely. A ko ni sonu o.”
But the police debunked the claim, describing it as false alarm.
“The Command wishes to state categorically that the information is nothing but a false alarm and a calculated attempt to cause panic in the mind of the people, most especially those living in that axis,” Abimbola Oyeyemi, the command’s spokesperson said.
According to Oyeyemi, the only kidnapping case ever recorded in the area mentioned is that of a woman ambushed and abducted in her farm alongside her visitor on May 1.
Oyeyemi added that the said abductees have since regained their freedom and some suspects were arrested in connection with the case.
“It is, therefore, a thing of surprise that somebody would just sit down in the comfort of his room and declare the entire area unsafe because of an isolated incident,” he laments.
Meanwhile, the command has advised the general public to discountenance the information in its entirety, saying it is nothing but the handiwork of mischief-makers.
The police spokesman added that the command is doing everything to ensure the safety of Ogun people, asking that the cooperation of everybody is needed in this regard.”
0 Comments