No fewer than nine surveyors have been kidnapped in Ondo State by kidnappers while on site at the Ilu-Abo axis in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.

According to sources, the kidnappers made contact with some families of the victims and demanded N100 million for their release but later reduced it to N50 million after a series of pleas.

One of the sources, who craved anonymity, disclosed that N20 million had been raised, but the abductors turned it down as they insisted on the N50 million ransom.

Meanwhile, women in Akure, the state capital, on Tuesday protested over the incessant kidnappings and killings as they hit the streets to demand the immediate cessation of the development.

Converging on the residence of the Ejemikin of Akure, High Chief Oluwole Omotayo, in the state capital, the protesters condemned the surge in the rate of kidnapping in the state in recent times.

While marching from Ijemikin to the Governor’s Office at Alagbaka, Akure, the protesters, who were mostly women, called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to take quick and decisive actions over the surge in activities of kidnappers, killer herdsmen, and other criminals.