Gunmen abduct passengers on Abuja-Lokoja highway

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have reportedly abducted passengers from an 18-seater commuter bus along the Abuja-Lokoja highway. According to Daily Trust, the incident occurred near Aseni village, which borders the FCT and Kogi State. Locals said the incident occurred on Thursday, around 9:48 pm, when the commuter bus suddenly came under attack shortly after passing Ochonyi village on the highway. The locals said the gunmen opened fire and deflated the front tires when the bus slowed down to maneuver through potholes along the road. It was when the driver of the bus slowed down while trying to maneuver his way through the potholes that the gunmen took advantage, appeared from the nearby bush, and opened fire on the front tires of the bus, said a local, simply identified as Shuaibu. He said that during the attack, the gunmen whisked away the passengers from the bus into the bush at gunpoint. A member of the vigilante group from the area, Saidu Adamu, confirmed the abduction to our reporter on Saturday via telephone. He said the gunmen targeted the bus after the driver slowed down to navigate the potholes. He added that the vigilantes were alerted shortly after the attack and mobilized to the scene, but the passengers had already been taken into the bush. "In fact, even before the vigilantes arrived at the scene, the passengers had already been taken into the bush. The vigilantes tried to track them but could not locate the direction they took, he said He further explained the difficulty in tracing the suspects. You know, sometimes when they kidnap their victims, they change direction and dont move straight to their camp. They keep changing direction to avoid being located, he said.  He said the police at the Chikara division were alerted, arrived at the scene, and towed the bus to the police station.  A police source at the Chikara division who preferred anonymity said the police and vigilantes have mobilized into the forest in an effort to trace the location of the gunmen and rescue the victims unharmed. The post Gunmen abduct passengers on Abuja-Lokoja highway appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.