Unknown gunmen have kidnapped at least twenty-five members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Igan, in Akure, Ondo State capital.

It was gathered that the victims were travelling for a burial programme when the attackers struck on the notorious Ifon road in the Ose Local Council Area of the state, on Friday evening.

Speaking with reporters about the incident in the early hours of Saturday, a member of the church told reporters that the worshippers were mostly choir members.

He said: “At least twenty-five of them were in the bus travelling for the burial programme en route to Ose LGA. They were abducted by the armed men, and their bus was abandoned by the roadside.”

In a chat with Daily Trust, the spokesperson of the Ondo Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said the police anti-kidnapping squad and other tactical teams had been deployed in the area to rescue the victims.

She said: “The incident happened yesterday (Friday) afternoon, the police were informed that a Church Bus with the Inscription CAC was abandoned around the Elegbeka area, and there are suspicions that the passengers in the vehicle were kidnapped.

“But we are already on the trail of the kidnappers with the view to rescue the abducted victims. Our men from the Anti-kidnapping squad are combing the bush already.”