Nigerian soldiers on Friday killed at least four kidnappers in Ondo State and rescued travelers who had been abducted by the gang.
The event took place along the Owo-Ifon Expressway.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Monday gave Fulani herdsmen seven days to vacate Ondo government’s forest reserves, saying the areas had been converted to dens of kidnappers and other criminals.
The soldiers were on patrol along the expressway when they ran into a roadblock mounted by the kidnappers in their attempt to abduct some travelers. They had already kidnapped some victims before the soldiers’ arrival at the spot.
The kidnappers were said to have opened fire on the soldiers, who responded, gunning down four of them, while four of the soldiers were also wounded.
The exchange of fire between the soldiers and kidnappers was said to have lasted nearly an hour, which forced the abductors to abandon their victims and ran into the bush.
Governor Akeredolu’s quit order to the herdsmen has generated arguments in the Nigerian polity. A day after he gave the order, the presidency countered him, saying the state government lacked the power to evict people who had been leaving the area for years.
The state has however vowed to enforce the quit notice, saying that it could no longer tolerate the spade of abductions, killings, and destruction being perpetrated by the herdsmen.
