A newlywed couple, Funmilayo Bamidele and her husband, Reverend Abiodun David, have been abducted by suspected armed bandits along the Eruku-Iyemero Road, a border route linking Kwara and Kogi states.
The couple were reportedly returning from their engagement ceremony in Eruku when they were intercepted alongside four other passengers on Saturday evening.
Sources said the vehicle was initially expected to use the Isanlu Road after leaving Eruku.
However, the driver reportedly opted for an alternative route to drop off the best man and some other members of the group at Iyamoye in Kogi State.
The decision reportedly led the vehicle onto the Iyemero-Eruku route, where armed bandits intercepted the travellers.
The newlyweds and the other passengers were subsequently taken away, while details about the identities and whereabouts of the other victims remained unclear at the time of filing this report.
A photograph of Funmilayo and Reverend Abiodun emerged following the incident as efforts intensified to locate the victims and secure their release.
The abduction has raised fresh concerns about the safety of travellers using roads around the border communities where Kwara, Kogi and Ekiti states meet.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, confirmed the abduction and said security agencies had launched an operation to rescue the victims.
Ojo said soldiers had moved into the surrounding bush and were combing the area in search of the abducted couple and the other victims.
He said the operation was also aimed at apprehending those responsible for the attack.
The commissioner disclosed that the vehicle conveying the victims was later found parked at an abandoned police station in Ayetoro, Ekiti State.
According to him, police operatives from the three affected states were collaborating in the rescue effort because of the location of the incident along the border communities.
Security agencies are expected to continue the search operation as efforts are made to locate the victims and bring them to safety.
