•Bandits
Two family members of the five abducted women in Erinmope – Ekiti, Moba Local Government area have been held hostage in the kidnappers’ den, as the number rises to seven.
Recall that on Saturday, January 24, 2026, gunmen stormed Erinmope-Ekiti, in Moba Local Government areas of Ekiti State and seized five women, reports Daily Independent.
Among those abducted were a nursing mother, expectant mother and three others .
The abductors had demanded a N100 million ransom from the family.
They were reportedly held at an unknown location in Idofin, Ero Local Government of Kwara State while attempting to remit a ransom of N10 million out of the N100 million earlier demanded.
The latest victims’ names were given as Ibrahim Soliu and Mohammad Soliu.
The head of the family Alhaji, Muhammad Saliu Okanlawon( alias Elebenla), in a telephone interview with journalists explained that the family had pleaded with the bandits for the downward review of the ransom from N100 million to N10 million.
He gave the identities of the five abductees as Kehinde Mahmud, Adijat Hussein, Hawawu Suleiman, Fatima and another Fatima.
Narrating his ordeal, Alhaji Okanlawon explained that they reached out to the extended family members who made generous donations, adding they were only able to raise N10 million.
He said, “We took a N10 million ransom to the kidnappers last Friday , February 6, 2026 at a location in Oro Ago near Omu-aran only to be moved to Idofin in Oke Ero Local Government, all in Kwara.
“Our family has been traumatised by this incident, we have struggled to raise N10 million, with the hope that these kidnappers will show mercy on us by releasing five members of our family earlier abducted.
“But we were thrown into a deeper pain when we received the call that two of my brothers who took the ransom for remittance had been held hostage too.
“This is pure wickedness, we don’t even know what to do again. They said the money we brought was too small after we had pleaded with them, We are appealing to the government to come to our aid. again. We are using this medium to appeal to the government to come to our rescue. We don’t even know what to do again.
“One of the victims is carrying a nine- month old pregnancy, you can imagine the kind of trauma she will be going through now. It is indeed a painful experience for the family,” he lamented.
