Suspected kidnappers have attacked a commercial bus along the Lagos-Benin Expressway in Edo State, killing the driver and abducting passengers, prompting an intensive security response.
The attack occurred on April 18 at about 6:00 pm along the Iguobazuwa axis of the Benin-Ore road. The vehicle, belonging to GUO Transport Company, was conveying five passengers when it was ambushed by suspected kidnappers.
The driver was shot and later confirmed dead. A female passenger who sustained gunshot injuries was rescued by responding officers and rushed to hospital, where she is currently receiving treatment and said to be in stable condition. Three other passengers were abducted and taken into a nearby forest by the assailants.
Channels Television reports that the spokesman of the Edo State Police Command, Eno Ikoedem, said the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, ordered a coordinated rescue effort across the Benin-Ore axis and adjoining forest areas. “Area Commanders have been directed to lead intensified search operations within their jurisdictions,” Ikoedem said.
Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit from the State Headquarters have been deployed to reinforce the ongoing operation, with police tactical teams working in collaboration with local hunters and vigilante groups to comb the forests, secure the release of the victims and apprehend those responsible.
The attack is the latest in a string of kidnap-for-ransom incidents targeting commercial vehicles on the notorious Benin-Ore axis, a stretch of road that has recorded repeated ambushes on travellers in recent months.
