On Saturday evening, fear gripped the people of Iyemero Ekiti, in the Ikole local government area of Ekiti State, when gun-wielding kidnappers stormed the hamlet and abducted Nusirat Saliu, a prominent trader.

During the invasion, which was followed by occasional gunshots, a guy identified as a farmer was macheted in the head and suffered serious injuries.

People on the streets fled in separate directions in response to the random gunshots, allowing the kidnappers to seize the victim and pull her into the surrounding woodland, which leads to the Kwara and Kogi state borders.

The abduction took place around 8 p.m. on Saturday, according to an eyewitness.

He added that abductors, who were armed with AK 47 rifles, had a good time in a part of town and pretended to be purchasers on a friendly visit before striking and abducting Mrs. Saliu to an unknown location.

“They were at a section of the town pretending to be buyers and used the opportunity to study the woman’s movements in and out of her shop. They waited till nightfall and suddenly, we heard gunshots that lasted for about five minutes, with this, we knew something was wrong.

“They followed the woman into her shop, grabbed and dragged her into the forest as they shot indiscriminately to scare the people.

“As they were doing this, a farmer who was at the shop then and made efforts to struggle with them was shot. But when they realized the pellets couldn’t penetrate the man, they drew out a sharp cutlass and inflicted a deep cut on his head. He is presently at the hospital”.

The police, local hunters, the Amotekun Corps, and vigilante organizations, according to the source, have begun combing the large forest that divides two adjacent states without success.

When contacted, Sunday Abutu, the Police Public Relations Officer for Ekiti Command, said the command had not yet been told on the event.

According to an eyewitness, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Ikole Council area visited the community around 7.12 a.m. on Sunday and promised to recover the woman as well as apprehend the criminals.