A businessman has been abducted by gunmen in Edo State.
The victim, Columbus Ogbe, hails from Igbanke in Orhionmwon local government area of Edo State.
Columbus was abducted while supervising work in his building site at Utekon near Oluku in Ovia North East Local government area.
Standard Gazette crime correspondent Festus Alenkhe gathered that the 50-year-old man was driven away in his personal Grey colour Toyota Highlander jeep.
SG gathered that the gunmen stormed the project site on Wednesday, 16 September 2021, at about 18:30hrs, shooting sporadically into the air before abducting their victim.
The kidnappers, SG gathered, are currently using the victim’s mobile phone to call the family for ransom.
They are demanding seven million naira (N7,000,000) to effect his release.
Columbus Ogbe
But the ransom negotiation, however, took a new dimension as the suspected kidnappers have now resolved to help the man in their custody raise the ransom.
Standard Gazette learned that the kidnappers are calling the contacts on Ogbe’s phone, using him to appeal to them to assist in raising the ransom.
Some of his family members and friends have so far contributed between N200,000, N300,000 and N500,000 each.
SG gathered that so far, the family and well-wishers have raised the sum of N4.5, as kidnappers wait for the money to get to N7m.
They have since requested the account number of the relation of the victim, where they agreed that the money would be paid.
According to the arrangement, the family member is expected to go to the bank and withdraw the money before handing it over to the kidnappers.
As of press time, 2021, the victim and his Toyota Highlander jeep are still with the suspected kidnappers in their criminal hideouts.
The Police in Edo state is yet to make a statement on the Kidnapping incident.
©Standard Gazette