Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers laid siege on the ever-busy Benin-Auchi highway and kidnapped a sizable number of persons travelling on the route.
The gunmen were said to have come out from the bush and forced a commercial bus to stop at gunpoint on Thursday.
A truck driver who refused to stop after he was flagged down by the gunmen was said to have rammed into a bus at the scene, and killed 2 passengers.
The Heritage Times Gathered that the Gunmen went on to abduct the 25 travellers, a development which caused confusion on the ever-busy road as some motorists abandoned their vehicles and fled into the bush.
Confirming the incident, The police said the dead victim is a member of a vigilante group in the Urhokosa/Obagie area of the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi highway where the kidnap occurred.
The police also revealed that members of the vigilante group engaged the kidnappers in a shootout.
Speaking to newsmen, a driver of one of the vehicles plying the road who managed to escape, Martins Aibogun, said a group of suspected kidnappers led the first set of the victims to the bush, while a second group compelled the driver of the bus to block the road with the vehicle.
Mr Aibogun said, “There were two sets of armed kidnappers. I think they are coordinated in the way they operate. The security agencies must step up their tactics to address this problem that has become a daily occurrence.”
According to him, other vehicles also ran into the traffic jam caused by the blockade, adding that they were attacked by another group of the kidnappers, who selected victims and marched them to into the bush.
It is worthwhile to note that The Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi Road has been a den of armed robbery activities, kidnapping, and other criminal elements.
Mike Ozekhomhe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was some years ago kidnapped on that same route.
Thursday’s kidnap in Edo adds to the worsening security situation across Nigeria with kidnapping for ransom by armed non-state actors now common across the country.
