The Edo State Police Command has said scores of passengers waiting to board a train from the Igueben station in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State to Warri in Delta State were kidnapped by suspected herdsmen on Saturday evening.
In a statement, Chidi Nwabuzor, Edo Police Public Relations Officer confirmed that many of the travelers were also reportedly injured.
It added that the abductors, who were armed with AK 47, invaded the train station and shot sporadically into the air before abducting scores of intending travelers into the bush.
The incident: According to the statement, an unspecified number of passengers waiting to board the train from Edo to Warri became victims of the kidnapping on Saturday evening.
- The statement read in part, “This is to inform the gentlemen of the press that today, 7th of January, 2023 at about 1600hrs, an unspecified number of herdsmen armed with AK 47 riffles attacked the train station at Igueben, Edo State, and kidnapped an unspecified number of passengers who were waiting to board the train to Warri.
- “The kidnappers who shot sporadically into the air before kidnapping some passengers left some persons with bullet wounds. The Area Commander Irrua, DPO Igueben Division, and men have visited the scene of the crime with members of the Edo State Security Network, local vigilantes, and hunters with a view to protecting the lives and property of the remaining passengers.
Nwabuzor , therefore, stated that bush combing operations have commenced in order to rescue the victims and arrest the fleeing kidnappers, adding that further developments will be communicated.
What you should know: similar occurrence saw the death of some passengers and a score of others abducted during the Abuja-Kaduna train attack on 28th March 2022.
- Also, Recall that the Abuja-Kaduna train services recently resumed operations on December 5, 2022, after eight months of suspending activities on the rail lines.
The victims were released in batches with the last 23 freed in October.
