Gunmen kidnap driver, 18 travellers in Kogi

Gunmen kidnap driver, 18 travellers in Kogi

Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped a yet-to-be-identified driver and all the passengers in an 18-seater commercial bus plying the Anyigba -Itobe Road, in Ochadamu, in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

According to an eyewitness, the incident happened around 4pm on Monday at a kidnapping spot along the highway in the Ochadamu area of the state.

Speaking with our correspondent, a reliable source said the bus driver was conveying the passengers to their destinations in Abuja when the gunmen laid a siege to the vehicle and abducted the driver and the 18 passengers.

Lamenting the incident, residents in the area said the kidnapping activities which reduced drastically in the Ochadamu area of the state, resurfaced after the army checkpoint in the area was dismantled following an accident that killed many people and destroyed over 20 cars in the area.

 

It was learnt that security operatives, including vigilantes in the area, were making frantic efforts to rescue the kidnapped passengers.

The state Security Adviser to Governor, Jerry Omodara ( retd), who confirmed the incident, said the state government was on top of the situation.

“We have fought them; we will fight them; and we will continue to fight them, until they are neutralised in that axis of the state. Security agents have been alerted and they will do the needful,” Omodara said.

All efforts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya, proved abortive as repeated calls to his mobile number rang out.