Many passengers have been abducted as gunmen hijacked two Abuja-bound buses in the Inele-Eteke Ogugu, New Road area of Kogi East district, Northcentral, Nigeria.
According to reports on Monday, the incident involved GIG and ABC Transport buses heading to Abuja from the eastern part of the country.
A source said the GIG bus left Umuahia in Abia State at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday on its way to Abuja. In the wake of the abduction, he said GIG had contacted security services to track down the abductors.
Also, a social media influencer, Chude Nnamdi, posted that he had received reports about the incident.
“#Breakingnews: The reporting reaching me this morning is that a GIG & ABC transport buses heading to Abuja were hijacked by Kidnappers yesterday in Kogi state,” he tweeted.
He added the post made by someone who said his wife was one of those kidnapped in the GIG bus and that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N15 million.
Meanwhile, Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the incident.
The command’s spokesman, William Ayah, in a Monday statement, said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the area, local vigilantes, and hunters have been in the bush in an effort to rescue the victims.
He said the incident involved the GIG bus with 12 passengers and a Sienna bus belonging to ABC Transport with two occupants. But the driver of GIG Motors was later rescued by security operatives, the spokesman added.
According to him, Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Bethrand Onuoha, has deployed an additional Tactical Squad consisting of a Quick Response Unit, Police Mobile Force, Counter-Terrorism Unit, and conventional police personnel to the area to continue with the bush combing to ensure all victims are rescued unhurt.
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