Men suspected to be bandits, have allegedly abducted four members of the same family in Babanla community, Ifelodun Local Government in Kwara State.

The abductees were said to have gone to the farm as early as 5:00 am on Wednesday.

The chairman of Ifelodun local government, Hon. Femi Yusuf confirmed this to our correspondent in a telephone chat.

He wondered: “how and why should any sane person go to the farm at 5:am? We all know the situation on ground, no one needs to know when it is safe to go about.”

According to information, the attack happened early hours while the victims were working on their farmland at the outskirts of Babanla.

A source hinted that the armed men invaded the farmland unannounced, firing sporadically into the air before rounding up the family members.

The source added that the assailants initially seized five persons, only to later release an elderly man, “they then took away four other members of the family to an unknown destination,” he said.

However, a female source in the community (names withheld), said: “It is true that they abducted four family members. They were kidnapped on their farmland this morning.”

Disclosing that the victims were on their daily routine, she stated: “they came suddenly and surrounded them. The elderly man was later freed, but four others were taken away by the bandits”.

The identities of the abducted victims had yet to be officially confirmed as of the time of filing this report.

Confirming the attack further, Yusuf said: “yes I am aware and there is nothing I can do because we have soldiers, police, vigilantes and forest guards there.

“If with their presence in the area we still experience banditry attack, then they (the security operatives) should be the ones to answer for it,” he stated.

Recall that Babanla and other communities in the local government have been having ceaseless security challenges with residents lamenting inadequate presence of security personnel in the farm settlements.

However, the state police command had yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident.

Meanwhile, residents are calling on the government and security agencies to intensify patrols and deploy more personnel to vulnerable rural communities to prevent further attacks and secure the release of the abducted victims. (The Guardian)