The four timber merchants abducted in Ikakumo Akoko, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State on Saturday have been freed.

WuzupNigeria had at the weekend reported that the four, which included a woman, were reportedly kidnapped while travelling back home from a business trip in Edo State. The lorry they were travelling in broke down on the road and when they stopped to repair it,  gunmen came out from the bush and abducted them.

The male victims were said to be indigenes of Akunu and Ikare Akoko towns in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State.

A source said, some hours after the abduction, the hoodlums contacted their families and demanded a ransom of N5m for their release but their families begged them for the reduction.

But the amount that was eventually paid by the families of the victims was not revealed.

The source said,

“They ( the timber traders) were released this ( Monday) morning after the payment of an undisclosed amount of money as ransom to the kidnappers.

The Police Area Commander for Ikare Akoko, Mr Razak Rauf said, he could not say much about the incident as it did not happen in the Ondo Command’s jurisdiction, but saying the command would not relent in its effort to protect the people of the area.