Unknown gunmen have abducted High Chief Mukaila Bello, the Oniku of Iku in Ikare Akoko, Ondo State.

The monarch was abducted alongside Adeniran Adeyemo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yeye Gbafinro, a former House of Assembly candidate in Akoko North-East Constituency, and Bashiru Adekile, a community leader, on Thursday night.

FIJ learnt that the gunmen ambushed Bello and other victims along Ago Panu on the Owo-Ikare highway while they were returning home from Akure, the state capital.

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When contacted, Odunlami Funmilayo, spokeswoman of the Ondo State Police, said that there had been a kidnapping, but that she was yet to know the victims.

“The police got a distress call that while some people were on their way to Ikare, along Owo-Ikare road, some unknown gunmen shot at the vehicle and the bullet hit the driver on the head,” Odunlami said.

“So, the vehicle had to come to a halt and four people were whisked away. We are yet to know the identities of those men that were whisked away so we can’t confirm the kidnap of any traditional ruler.

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“But regarding those that were kidnapped, the police are on top of it.”

The incident came barely weeks after gunmen attacked the Okuta Elerinla Police Station in Akure and a policeman died in a crossfire.