They Kept H!tting Me With Cutl∆ss’ — Driver Recounts Bandits’ ∆bduction Of 14 Passengers On Benue-Kogi Road
‘They Kept Hitting Me With Cutlass’ — Driver Recounts Bandits’ Abduction Of 14 Passengers On Benue-Kogi Road
The incident reportedly occurred on Thursday along the Oumutele-Ankpechi axis of the Benue-Kogi road, a route frequently used by motorists travelling between the South-East and Abuja.
Adriver whose 18-seater commercial bus was attacked along the Benue-Kogi route has recounted how gunmen shot at his vehicle, shattered its tyres and abducted 14 passengers travelling from Enugu to Abuja.
The driver, who is currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital for a gunshot wound to his left leg and abdomen, said the attackers emerged from the bush and opened fire on the vehicle before forcing it to a halt.
The incident reportedly occurred on Thursday along the Oumutele-Ankpechi axis of the Benue-Kogi road, a route frequently used by motorists travelling between the South-East and Abuja.
In a video interview shared on Facebook by Oriental Times, the injured driver said he was driving through a rough section of the road when he heard a gunshot from behind the vehicle.
“So, while I was on motion, I now heard a gunshot at my back. It was like maybe one of them was hiding inside the bush,” he said. “Immediately I checked my side mirror, and I saw about three of them at the back. I now told the passengers that we were in trouble.”
According to him, more gunmen were positioned ahead of the bus and immediately began firing directly at it.
He said the attackers first shot one of the tyres, forcing him to bend down while trying to maintain control of the vehicle.
“I had to bend my head. I was not looking at the front. I had to bend down so that the bullet would not hit me at the front,” he recounted.
The gunmen subsequently shot a second tyre, bringing the bus to a complete stop.
The driver said he did not immediately realise that he had also been shot in the left leg until he attempted to escape from the vehicle.
“I didn’t even know that I was shot on the left leg. So, noticing this one now, this bullet here (pointing at the one on his abdomen), was later,” he said.
He said he opened the driver’s door and attempted to run into a nearby bush but collapsed because his injured leg could no longer support his weight.
The attackers then approached him and accused him of refusing to stop.
“I said no, and I had to lie down on the ground and I was begging them, please. I was not running. It’s just because I could not control the vehicle since I was shot on the leg,” he said.
According to the driver, one of the attackers, whom he described as a younger member of the group, whom he identified as Fulanis, repeatedly struck him with a cutlass and ordered him to open the vehicle.
He said he struggled to stand despite the gunshot wound and attempted to open the passenger door, while other passengers also began coming out of the bus.
“I was telling them (passengers), let’s lie down, let’s lie down, so that they will not harm anybody,” he said.
The driver alleged that the attackers smashed parts of the bus glass windows with a cutlass while ordering the passengers to lie down.
He said the assailants later ordered everyone to stand and form a line before marching the passengers into the bush.
The driver said he was unable to walk because of the gunshot wound and was eventually ordered to return to the vehicle.
“When they looked at me and they saw that I cannot move on with them, they now asked me, ‘You are the driver?’ I said yes. ‘Go, go, go, go back,’” he narrated.
He said one male passenger managed to escape by running into the bush immediately after the attackers shot the tyres, while a female passenger and others were unable to flee.
The remaining passengers were subsequently taken into the bush by the gunmen.
The driver alleged that the attackers were more than 10 and claimed that some of them were Fulani, based on their appearance and the language they spoke.
“Another thing to convince you that they are Fulanis was, even though they were speaking Hausa as they were hitting me with the cutlass and while they were shooting,” he said.
“But according to one of my passengers, immediately they entered the bush, the other ones were speaking their main dialect, which is Fulani.”
Images from the video show the injured driver lying on a hospital bed while receiving treatment. He appeared unable to walk normally and was seen with his legs stretched out on the bed as he recounted the attack.
Another image from the footage showed the Toyota Hiace bus belonging to Sunny Bright Mass Transit (SBMT) (123), that was carrying the victims before the attack parked along the road demobilized.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over the security of the Benue-Kogi road, particularly for passengers travelling between the South-East and Abuja.
An interviewer in the video appealed to security agencies, including the police, to intensify efforts to locate the abducted passengers.
“We are hoping that all security operatives will be at alert and we are hoping that they should not pay ransom this time,” the interviewer said. “Let them be rescued. They are in the bushes there. They have not gone far. I know for sure they have not gone far. Please, rescue these persons.”
