Gunmen Disguised As Passengers Abduct Travellers In Nigeria 

By Sunday Onye, senior correspondent

Travellers, residents and motorists plying the Ibadan-Oyo road have been alerted to be vigilant as a gang of kidnappers had abducted some passengers on the expressway disguising as travellers in the bus as well.

This was disclosed by the former speaker of OYO State House of Assembly Mr Asimiyu Alarape in a media briefing.

According to him, the revelation was made by one of his neighbours who was released by the kidnappers.

The victim said, the gang including the driver of a bus disguised as passengers and boarded the commercial bus only to be forced to stop halfway and robbed by eight kidnappers who collected their phones and money before leading other passengers into a thick forest.

He said: “Ibadan to Oyo road is now kidnapper’s den. One of my neighbours who boarded a bus going to Oyo yesterday was stopped in the middle of the road.”

“The kidnappers who disguised as passengers numbering up to eight marched them into the forest.

After they had collected their phones, they released three of them(including my neighbour) and took others into the deep forest. Only God knows their fate inside the kidnapper’s den.”

“Also, the driver of the eighteen-passenger bus was among the kidnapper gang. Let’s create this awareness that Oyo/Ibadan road is not safe again and let our family and friends be informed also.”

Reacting to the kidnap attempt, the National President of Soludero Hunters Association, Oba Nureni Akintola Anabi said this has been their cries that the state government and the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun should give the hunters approval to comb the forests.

“You know we have been crying that the Oyo State Government should empower us even if they are not giving us anything to enter the forest. We have been working in the forest for long.”

“But, we want to be careful so that we are not used as guinea pigs at the end of the day. If we go into the forest without their permission, they may query us who sent us there. We are familiar with the terrain and we know what to do”.

“Whenever the authorities give us the go-ahead, we will smoke the bandits out of the forests and hand them over to the law enforcement agents”, he said.