The driver of the bus carrying the kidnapped pupils and staff of the Apostolic Faith Group of Schools died before the victims were rescued.

The driver, identified as Taye Rasaki, was killed by the dare-devil kidnappers.

The pupils were abducted last Monday along Emure-Eporo Road while returning home from school after the kidnappers shot at the bus.

The kidnappers were said to have reached out to the families of the abducted pupils and demanded a N100 million ransom for each of the nine people in their den.

Reports later emerged on Thursday that the abductors reduced the ransom to N15 million for all the abductees while threatening to kill the victims if the money was not paid on time.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Yinka Oyebode, confirmed the development in an interview. 

Oyebode expressed optimism about the outcome of the efforts to apprehend the killers of two traditional rulers in the state.