Panic has gripped residents of Evboneka community in Edo State after gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted nine members of an extended family along the Eko-Abeku-Iyowa road, off the Benin-Akure highway.

The victims, who were returning home from school in a commercial vehicle, were ambushed by the armed men who reportedly emerged from the surrounding bush and forced the occupants into the forest at gunpoint. Among those seized were a nursing mother, her infant, several schoolchildren and young adults.

The head of the family, Festus Bamidele, said the ordeal came to light when the nursing mother and her baby staggered home hours after the attack, drenched from a heavy downpour. According to him, the kidnappers, apparently hampered by the rain and the difficulty of moving with an infant, released the woman and her child while marching the others deeper into the forest.

Bamidele recounted that three very young children in pre-kindergarten classes were later rescued by a combined team of local vigilantes and police operatives from the Evboneka axis, leaving four members of the family still in captivity.

Those still being held, he said, are aged between 11 and 26 and include his children, his younger sister and a sister-in-law. The abductors have since established contact with the family and are demanding a ransom of N260 million for their release.

The family patriarch described the demand as outrageous and far beyond their means, appealing to security agencies and the state government to intervene before the situation deteriorates.

Spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, Eno Ikoedem, confirmed the incident and disclosed that operatives from the Ekiadolor Division had already engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle shortly after the abduction.

According to Ikoedem, the swift response led to the rescue of five victims unhurt, while four others were taken away by the fleeing gunmen. She said the command, working with local hunters and vigilante groups, has launched an intensive bush-combing operation in the surrounding forests.

Ikoedem assured that efforts are ongoing to track down the kidnappers, secure the safe release of the remaining hostages and restore a sense of security to the affected communities along the Benin-Akure corridor, a route increasingly targeted by criminal gangs.