Gunmen (file photo)

Some suspected kidnappers have abducted two sand dredgers at Eleko village in the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Dependable sources told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday that the victims were kidnapped on Tuesday.

NAN gathered that the gunmen, who came through the lagoon around 9:00 a.m., were  shooting sporadically before they took the two dredgers away in their speed boat.

It was gathered that those abducted were the dredging company’s manager and the machine operator.

According to a source, the stray bullets from the gunmen hit one of the workers on the arm, while trying to escape.

“We were in our various houses when we heard the gunshots. After the dust had settled, we went to the scene of the incident.

“Unfortunately, we found one of the workers in a pool of his own blood.

“We rescued the victim and took him to a private clinic in the community for treatment, after which we then reported the matter at the Akodo Police Division.

“It was when we got to the clinic we knew it was kidnappers who invaded the dredging site. We call on government and the security agencies to come to our aid,” a source said.

It was further gathered that the dredging company was said to have started operation in the community in January.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police was called upon to deploy marine police personnel to the riverine areas of the state.

“On that fateful day, had it been that some marine police personnel were stationed in the coastal area, the gunmen would probably have been arrested,” another source said.

Meanwhile, some of the soldiers and policemen deployed to Igbodu in Epe were said to be escorting farm owners and workers to their various farms.

One of the farm managers, who spoke with NAN on phone said, they were only going to the farm to wet some of their perishable farm produce.

“There are some of our crops if we do not wet them in a day, they would perish and some of our livestock would also die.

“The army and police were assisting us by giving us cover to wet our farms and livestock.

“Some of the farm workers who escaped the gunmen with injuries are now in the hospital receiving treatment,” the farmer said.

It will be recalled that on Feb. 16, five farm workers were abducted by unknown gunmen in their farms located in the Epe area of the state. (NAN)