Suspected kidnappers unleashed a terrifying attack on two commercial buses, resulting in the abduction of multiple passengers near Ochonyi village, along the Abuja-Lokoja highway.
As reported by Daily Trust, the incident occured around 7:33 pm after Omoko village last Thursday, while the buses were passing through a downhill section of the road.
Shedrack Jonathan, one of the passengers who managed to escape, explained that he boarded the bus at Jabi in Abuja, travelling to Enugu, and that they ran into the gunmen.
He said they suddenly heard gunshots rang out, causing one of the buses to swerve off the road and into the bush, adding that some people emerged from the bush with guns some few seconds after and ordered them to come out from the bus and led them into the bush.
He said he managed to escape after about a kilometer from the highway and he came out at neighbouring Aseni village.
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He said, “At Aseni village, some vigilantes saw me and I narrated what happened and they mobilized to the scene.”
A vigilante member, requesting anonymity, confirmed the abduction.
He said the gunmen came from the bush and shot the tyres of the two buses, which forced the drivers to stop.
He said, “Before we mobilized to the scene, the gunmen had escaped with the victims, leaving the buses by the road.
He said the vigilantes were still combing the forest to trail the gunmen and rescue the abducted victims unhurt.
Notably, the attack occurred just a short distance from a police checkpoint, which, according to reports, was only staffed by police during the daytime, leaving the area vulnerable during the evening.
The spokesman of the Kogi State Police Command, DSP Williams Ovye Ayah, has not comment the incident.