Akeredolu Speaks On His Encounter With Kidnappers On Akure-Ibadan Road

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, of Ondo state, has recounted how he escaped from suspected kidnappers who targetted his convoy on the Akure-Ibadan road which links different states in the south-west.

Speaking on a live television program on Sunday, the Governor who did not reveal the exact date of the incident, said the suspects ran into the bush when security men attached to him opened fire.

Akeredolu also said he and his colleagues were working towards ending the “siege to the south-west”.

Naija News understands that several kidnappings have been recorded on that road despite the heavy presence of security personnel on the highway.

Recently, two officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were abducted, Musibau Adetunmbi, an Ibadan-based lawyer, and Adeyinka Adegbehingbe, a professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state, have also suffered a similar fate.

Speaking on plans to curb the menace, Akeredolu said, “I have encountered them (kidnappers) before so security issue is not limited to the masses alone.”

“My convoy was targetted but my security people shot into the air to scare them away. They fled into the bush on Akure-Ibadan road. We, as governors, will do something about the issue. We are discussing with the federal government. It is real that travelers are not safe on the road.

“It looks like it’s only the masses that are affected as the big men are enjoying themselves as they drive in convoy. Is that so?

Asked if he is afraid of being kidnapped, the governor said, “Nobody can kidnap me, I have passed that stage.”