Gunmen have ambushed an 18-passenger bus traveling to Ado-Ekiti, abducting all the passengers, including the driver, at Emure Ile, near Emure-Owo.
The bus, which was returning from Onitsha on Sunday, was seized on the outskirts of Emure-Owo, where the kidnappers forced the passengers into the bush.
A source from the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) at the Ado-Ekiti Motor Terminal revealed that the bandits demanded an astronomical ransom of N30 million for each of the passengers, including the driver, Sunday Emmanuel.
“They drove the bus into the bush and dragged the passengers out,” the source, who requested anonymity, recounted. “They contacted the driver’s family and after a brief conversation with him, they demanded N30 million. They promised to call back, but there has been no further communication.”
The kidnappers abandoned several children on the bus, whose cries alerted passersby in the early hours of Monday. The children’s distress led to a call to the nearest police station, prompting an investigation. The source added that two passengers managed to escape while being led into the bush before the police arrived.
“The children left on the bus were found by some farmers who heard them crying, and that’s how the police were notified,” the source continued. “The bus was later recovered by the authorities, and the driver’s union in Ado-Ekiti is now in a meeting to determine how to communicate with the kidnappers.”
Authorities are currently working on a strategy to secure the release of the abducted passengers, while the kidnappers have yet to make any further demands. The incident has sparked renewed concern over the growing insecurity along highways in the region.
