The Department of State Service has reportedly taken into custody a medical doctor who was allegedly ferrying drugs from Sokoto State to kidnappers in parts of Kwara State.
A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, says the doctor was intercepted in the Jebba area following intelligence reports about the activities of the kidnappers and their couriers.
The secret service said the criminal gangs appeared desperate for medical care following gunshot wounds sustained in encounters with security forces.
“So, we are advising improved security measures in health facilities in thickly forested areas, which the kidnappers may target,” according to a security official.
Kwara has come under attack by bandits in recent times.
In November, 38 worshippers were abducted by gunmen who also killed three people in the Eruku area of the state.
A farmer was also abducted by the bandits along the Eruku–Koro Road.
The assailants, reportedly four in number, were armed with AK-47 rifles and cutlasses.
A community leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the attackers struck during routine work hours and whisked away one Annas Aasanru, a native of Eruku.
In the same month, a traditional ruler, the Ojibara of Bayagan Oba Kamilu Salami, was abducted in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.
But on December 1, the monarch and six others escaped from the grip of bandits.
Sources from the community said that Salami and six other abductees from the neighbouring community were able to escape following a vicious attack launched on the bandits by the vigilantes who flooded the forests.
In Bokungi Village, Edu Local Government Area, gunmen abduct four rice farmers.
Sources said that the latest incident occurred while the victims were working on their rice farms during the peak of the harvest season.
According to a community source, the attackers arrived suddenly and surrounded the farmers as they were gathering their harvested rice.
Residents said the gunmen operated for several minutes without resistance, forcing the farmers into the nearby bush before whisking them away toward an unknown destination.
Source; Channels News