The driver of ill-fated Benue Links commercial vehicle whose passengers were robbed and kidnapped by armed men in Kogi state while on their way to Lagos, Mr Emmanuel Owoicho, has disclosed that six passengers including a pregnant woman were among the abducted passengers.
The driver who Thursday narrated his encounter with the bandits to newsmen in Makurdi disclosed that his vehicle which had 13 passengers en route from Gboko to Lagos was waylaid by the armed men at Ochada after Ayangba in Kogi state.
He said: “I was travelling to Lagos from Gboko with 13 passengers on Saturday. On the way, after Ayangba, at a place called Ochada junction in Kogi state at about 4pm, I saw some men coming out from the bush and shooting at us.
“I wanted to go ahead but later I realized that if I do that, they would riddle the bus with bullets.
“So, I parked. Many others came from the bush and also started robbing us. They collected our money, phones and everything we had. They collected N42,000 from me.
“Then they asked us to lie on the road but on sighting a trailer on high-speed approaching, their leader asked us to get up and stay by the roadside.
“He now asked 6 persons to follow him into the bush, three men and three female; among them was a pregnant woman.
“I immensely took the other passengers back to a Naval checkpoint and reported the incident to them.
“They and some vigilante members asked me to take them to the spot of the incident. After over 30 to 40 minutes of search, they came back to say they did not find the kidnappers.
“The next day Sunday, I went to the Police Station in Ayangba to formally report the incident and they instructed me to go. I then took the remaining passengers back to Gboko. I had left Gboko on the day of the incident at about 10 am.
“I learnt the kidnappers are demanding for N10million as ransom from those kidnapped but their families are negotiating between N750,000 and N450,000. There is an orphaned girl whose family say they only have N80,000. I feel sad and pray that they are all released.” Vanguard.