A  former Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Ekiti State, Ayo Arise, was kidnapped by gunmen on Sunday.

He was kidnapped along with his driver on the Okene-Abuja Highway while travelling back to Abuja from his country house in Oye-Ekiti.
 
He was said to be travelling in his Mercedez Jeep as of the time of the kidnap.

A family source said the abductors had demanded N80m for his release.

The All Progressives Congress’ chief was said to have attended a ceremony at Ikere Ekiti on Saturday, where a chieftaincy title was conferred on a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin.

The source said, “He visited Ekiti State on Saturday before returning to Abuja.

“It was when we wanted to establish contact with him and we could not that we started to worry. The last time I called him was around 6pm, so the kidnap must have taken place around 7pm.

“The kidnappers have contacted us and demanded N80m as ransom. We are worried about him.

“The family is working hard to secure his release. We have contacted all the security agencies, including the police.”

The Police Public Relations Officer for the  Ekiti State Police Command, Alberto Adeyemi, said he could not speak on the matter since the reported kidnap took place in another state –Kogi.

The Kogi State police spokesman, William Aya, however, said the command did not record any case of kidnapping.

He said, “We did not record any case of abduction in Kogi. Somebody called me and said he (Arise) was abducted on his way from Ekiti State. Kogi State shares boundaries with Edo and Ondo states. At times, people would call us that there is abduction in Kogi, but when we investigate, we will discover it is Edo.”