Tobias Sylvester
Gunmen have attacked a commercial bus in Benue State, abducting the driver and ten of his passengers en route Onitsha, Anambra State.
Travellers Attacked In Benue
It was gathered that the victims were travelling from Jos, Plateau State when the ran into the gunmen on a bad section of the highway in Benue.
According to Nigerian Tribune, the driver tried to accelerate and zoom out of the danger zone but was overpowered by the gunmen.
A source close to the transport company in Jos revealed that the bus departed at about 7:00 am on Friday, with ten passengers, including the driver, but ran into the gunmen at Eke highway in Benue at about 4:00 pm.
It was learnt that gunmen led the passengers into the bush and forced them to surrender their phones, while the driver was mercilessly beaten and abducted with the travellers.
The source further revealed that the kidnappers contacted the transport company in Jos on Saturday for a ransom of N5 million per passenger and threatened to kill them if the money was not paid before Monday.
He further added that apart from Saturday’s phone call with the kidnappers, they had not called again but resorted to calling relatives of the passengers in their custody.
It was learnt that relatives and parents of the victims held a meeting at the premises of the transport company in Jos on Monday where they agreed to take a collective decision concerning the ransom and negotiation instead of an individualistic approach.
KanyiDaily had also reported how gunmen suspected to be bandits burnt at least 30 passengers inside a bus traveling from Sabon Birni LGA to Sokoto town.
