A five-man gang of suspected kidnappers on Tuesday evening reportedly killed one person and abducted three others on Ijara-Isanlu Isin Road in the Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State.
One of the kidnapped victims was identified as Rotimi Oyedepo, younger brother of the Chairman, Governing Council of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Iyiola Oyedepo.
It was gathered that the incident happened around 6pm.
An eyewitness said Oyedepo and two others were travelling in a car when the suspected kidnappers intercepted them.
He said while the armed men were ordering the victims out of the car into the nearby bush, a motorcyclist who was riding towards the scene of the incident at the time was shot dead.
He identified the deceased motorcyclist simply as Adeyemi.
The source also claimed that a bus conveying passengers from Ekiti State was also intercepted and all the passengers were taken into the bush.
Iyiola Oyedepo, who is also a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday.
He said his younger brother was on an errand ahead of the burial of their mother which will take place in their hometown, Isanlu Isin on Saturday when he was kidnapped with two others.
“Yes, one of the kidnapped victims is my immediate younger brother. He was on an errand with others for the burial ceremony of our mother this Saturday when he was kidnapped with others,” he said.
When asked whether the kidnappers have reached out to the family for a ransom payment, Oyedepo said, “No. We will continue with the burial plan and we believe that, by the grace of God, he will be released alive.”
The spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident.
He said, “One person was killed and three others still missing, according to the information available.
“Policemen have been drafted into the bush to comb it and rescue the kidnapped victims alive and also arrest the kidnappers.”
