Some passengers travelling to Onitsha in Anambra state from Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti state, were abducted at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure north local government area of Ondo state, on Tuesday.
The incident, which happened in the early hours of the day, has yet again raised concerns about the high level of insecurity in the country.
Although some security operatives initially denied reports of the incident, Festus Omoniyi, secretary of Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Oyemekun branch, Akure/Ado unit, narrated how it happened.
He identified the driver as Felix Akinde, saying 10 persons were kidnapped at a spot known as NYSC junction.
“The vehicle involved belongs to our union. It picked passengers in Ado-Ekiti and they were heading to Onitsha but they were attacked by herdsmen around NYSC junction,” he said.
“The incident happened around 6am. There were 10 people in the vehicle, including the driver. All of them were taken into the forest. The bus is presently parked at Iju police station. We gathered that policemen could not go into the forest to confront those holding innocent people.”
Omoniyi said the suspected kidnappers have called the family members of the driver to inform them that they are holding him.
“The vehicle involved belongs to our union. It picked passengers in Ado-Ekiti and they were heading to Onitsha but they were attacked by herdsmen around NYSC junction,”
At the Iju police divisional headquarters, the divisional police officer was said to have gone on an “official engagement” but the most senior officer on ground, who pleaded anonymity, denied knowledge of the incident.
“I am not aware of any incident. I was not around yesterday, I just came back today but nobody was kidnapped anywhere around this area. Go and meet the PPRO, if anything is happening anywhere, he should be the one to talk but you can continue with your investigation,” he said.
But a resident of Iju town said the news was all over, wondering why the police officer denied it.
“Why will the police say they are not aware? It happened at NYSC junction. The attackers are herdsmen but I can’t say the number of people that were kidnapped. The vehicle I was told was coming from Ado and going to Onitsha.”
A corn seller less than 200 meters to the spot where the incident occurred told TheCable that the attackers took advantage of the deplorable condition of the road. She said she saw the vehicle parked in the middle of road when she was going to the farm in the morning.