Six schoolchildren, three teachers and a bus driver have been kidnapped in Emure Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The incident occured on Monday evening while the school bus was conveying the children to Eporo-Ekiti.
It was gathered that the incident occured at the same time bandits attacked a vehicle conveying three traditional rulers between Oke-Ako and Ipao Ekiti, in Ajoni Local Government Area.
The gunmen were said to have ambushed the school bus carrying the pupils from a private nursery school back home at about 5 p.m.
Although no word has been heard from the police as of the time of this report, the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has promised that the school pupils would be rescued unhurt.
He urged residents to remain calm as efforts were underway to rescue the victims.
The governor, who described the kidnapping of the pupils as callous and unacceptable, said nothing would be spared in the efforts to rescue them.
The governor, in a statement on Monday, said security agencies in the state were already on the trail of the abductors with a mandate to bring the pupils and their teachers back safely.
“Security is being stepped up across the state with a view to flushing out criminal elements from their hideouts,” Mr Oyebanji said.
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He urged residents to cooperate with security agencies, by making available relevant information to the authorities.
While the police in Ekiti are yet to react to the kidnap of the school children and their teachers, the police earlier said they were investigating the killing of the monarchs in the state.
The police described the incident as a suspected case of murder, rather than the activities of kidnappers, which is the view of leaders in the affected community.
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