LAGOS JULY 22ND (URHOBOTODAY)-Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped the 24-year-old daughter of a newspaper vendor along with eight other passengers in a bus along the Jesse-Oben Road in Delta State.

The incident was reported to have happened just before Oben, a town on the Edo/Delta states border.

The Edo State Police Command has not yet officially confirmed the kidnapping, but reports indicated that the kidnappers spared the driver and conductor of the bus traveling from Sapele to Asaba, allowing them to escape, while leading the remaining passengers into the nearby forest.

Gunshots were said to have been fired into the air to instill fear in their captives.

The incident has left the newspaper vendor in a state of anguish and desperation in Sapele, leading to his appeal to the Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and the security agencies for assistance towards freeing his abducted daughter.

He expressed the disbelief of singularly targeting him, considering himself a humble vendor with no significant monetary wherewithal.

The kidnappers have also been said to have demanded a staggering ransom of N10 million for the safe return of the daughter of the vendor.

The distraught vendor was said to have passionately beseeched the relevant authorities to intensify their efforts to secure the release of his daughter.

The Newspapers Vendor Association in Sapele has also condemned the appalling act, describing it as inhuman and heinous.

In a statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the association, the association called on the Edo and Delta state governors as well as the security agencies to spare no effort in apprehending the culprits responsible for the heartless crime.

The Platinum