The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has condemned the kidnapping of some school children and the killing of traditional rulers in Ekiti.

The minister condemned the act in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

About six pupils, three teachers and a bus driver of a private school in Emure-Ekiti were abducted on Monday.

Mr Alake also condemned the killing of two traditional rulers in Ekiti, who were reportedly killed while returning from a security meeting in Irele-Ekiti by suspected kidnappers.

They were said to be in a vehicle driven by one of their colleagues, the Alara of Ikole Ekiti, when gunmen attacked them along a community in the Ikole LGA on Monday.

“I received with deep sadness, the report of Monday’s killing of two traditional rulers in Ekiti, the Onimojo of Imojo- Ekiti, Oba Olatunde Samuel Olusola and the Elesun of Esun-Ekiti, Oba David Babatunde Ogunsola.

“These two traditional rulers, according to media reports, were gruesomely murdered by their assailants while returning from a security meeting.

“The tragic incident, again, speaks to the challenges of insecurity in our country, which the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is working very hard to surmount,” said Mr Alake.

The minister urged security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime and ensure they faced the full wrath of the law.

“I call on the police high command and the Department of State Security Service to rescue the primary school pupils from Emure-Ekiti,” Mr Alake stated.

He commiserated with Governor Abiodun Oyebanji and the Ekiti people, especially the families and subjects of the traditional rulers.

Mr Oyebanji had described the incident as callous and unacceptable in a statement. He said security agencies in Ekiti were already on the trail of the abductors to ensure their safe return.