The gunmen who killed a traditional ruler, kidnapped his wife and one other person have reduced their ransom to N40 million from N100 million.

The gunmen had on Sunday first reached out to the king’s family for a N100 million ransom payment.

The traditional ruler, Oba Olusegun Aremu-Cole, who was the Olukoro of Koro-Ekiti in the Ekiti LGA in Kwara, was murdered in his palace Thursday night.

His wife and another person were at the same time kidnapped by the assailants.

Speaking with journalists late Sunday night, Kehinde Bayode, chairman of the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) in the council area, said a suspect was apprehended.

He said the suspect was arrested in Eruku town in the Ekiti LGA on Sunday.

While speaking on efforts made to free the kidnapped, Mr Bayode said, “The kidnappers had got in touch with the family. They were demanding N100 million ransom, which has now been reduced to N40 million.

“But we are still negotiating with them and right now, I’m on my way to Koro to get the latest information on the negotiation. We will continue to brief you (journalists) as the situation unfolds and we will keep you posted.”

However, police spokeswoman in Kwara, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, did not confirm the arrest of a suspect.

“The commissioner of police has deployed a tactical team to Koro-Ekiti to fish out the perpetrators. Policemen are working with other security agencies to free those that were abducted during the kidnapping incident.

“No arrest has been made yet. We are going to keep you abreast of developments as they unfold,” she said.

(NAN)