Passengers of an 18-seater bus have been abducted at Ochonyi-Omoko village along the Abuja-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.
Benjamin Isaac, a passenger who escaped, said the incident happened around 8:03pm on Wednesday.
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He said the attackers, who hid in the bush opened fire on the bus, deflating the back tyres in the process.
“They opened fire on back tyres which forced the driver to lose control. When the driver veered off the road, the gunmen came out of hiding and ordered all the passengers to come out. They led us into the bush at gunpoint,” he said.
He said he managed to escape with some other passengers who ran into the bush.
Isaac said he boarded the bus by the roadside in Zuba, while travelling to Okpella, Edo State.
A vigilante member, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the incident, saying he was performing ablution ahead of Isha’i prayers when he heard gunshots.
“It was immediately after my prayers I reached out to my colleagues and mobilised to the scene, where we discovered a bus abandoned by the roadside without passengers inside,” he said.
He said he later discovered that some passengers from the bus were abducted.
He said he and his colleagues were still combing the forest to trace the gunmen and rescue the victims.
The spokesman of the Kogi State police command, DSP Williams Ovye Ayah, did not respond to calls and a text message sent to him.
