AKURE, Nigeria,  Four gunmen abducted a journalist in Nigeria, leaving behind her little child and house- help, local television disclosed on Friday.  Olubunmi Oke, who works with the Nigerian Television Authority in Ondo State in the southwest of the West African country, was returning home when a taxi trailing her car forced it to a stop on Thursday. 

Television General Manager Bennie Mordi said Oke was abducted in front of a hotel while returning from her place of work.  Mordi said an eyewitness said a taxi cab was trailing her vehicle and forced it to stop before taking her away on Thursday night. "This is serious. I cannot imagine what they want from a journalist. Where is the money they are asking for, I pray for God’ s immediate intervention for the safety and peaceful release of my staff,” she said.  The General Manager said the police said the taxi cab used to carry out the abduction had been recovered at Igbara-Oke in Ifedore Local Governmnet Area of the state. 

The police spokesman in the state Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident, saying the police was on top of the case.  A colleague of Oke’s, Kemi Fakeye, said the victim’s mother earlier on Friday received a telephone message from the abductors, in which they demanded for a ransom of 8 million naira (more than 500,000 U. S. dollars) for her release. 

Fakeye appealed to the law enforcement agencies to ensure the release of her colleague, who she described as easy-going.  Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Journalists in a statement condemned the act in its entirety, calling on the police to act fast to ensure her safety and release.