Gunmen have abducted a local businessman, Suleiman Ndana, in a midnight raid on Tsaragi community in the Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Police spokesperson in Kwara, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, who confirmed the incident to Peoples Gazette, said it happened in the early hours of Sunday.

Ms Ejire-Adeyemi said a security guard was also shot during the incident and had since been taken to the hospital for treatment.

“The incident is true,” the police spokesperson noted. “The man was kidnapped along Tsaragi road in Edu local government. A guard was also shot by the assailants and is currently responding to treatment at a nearby hospital.”

Ms Ejire-Adeyemi added that efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the victim and bring perpetrators to justice.

The incident came days after two brothers working on their farmland in Lema community, in the Edu Local Government Area of the state, were attacked. While one of them died immediately, the other sustained severe injuries.

Killings and kidnapping for ransom have escalated in parts of Kwara, especially in Edu, Patigi and Ifelodun, with residents demanding that the government swiftly deepen surveillance, especially in vulnerable communities.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army recently killed a suspected arms courier transporting assault rifles into a Kwara community, saying it recovered a large cache of weapons.

The military added that it intercepted the Volkswagen Golf 3 with registration number Bayelsa SAG-133 XA as the driver attempted to escape with the weapons.