The Ogun State Police Command has confirmed a shocking incident where armed bandits intercepted an Abakaliki-bound luxury bus, robbed all passengers, and then callously set the vehicle ablaze. The travellers, en route to the southeast for Easter celebrations, found themselves in a nightmare scenario as they fell victim to the brazen attack.
According to SP Omolola Odutola, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, the heart-wrenching incident took place at Oke Ado junction in Ijebu Mushin along the Ijebu Ode-Ore-Benin expressway. The luxury Mercedes-Benz bus, coming from Maza Maza, was targeted by the armed bandits who brandished cutlasses during the robbery.
Eyewitnesses reported that the audacious robbers first stripped all 59 occupants of their belongings, locked them inside the bus, and then set it ablaze. In a desperate bid to escape the inferno, passengers resorted to breaking the windows and jumping out of the vehicle.
The management of Ifesinachi Transport Nig. Ltd. confirmed that the bus belonged to their company and had departed from Maza Maza, Lagos, on Good Friday heading to Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. Expressing shock over the horrifying incident, the company mourned the loss and trauma experienced by their passengers.
A distressing video shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) by Chude Nnamdi captured survivors recounting the terrifying ordeal. One passenger lamented, “Ifesinachi Motors, we were travelling in the night to come back to the East for Easter celebration, and criminals attacked us in Ijebu Ode along the Ore/Benin expressway.” Victims detailed how the armed bandits robbed them of all possessions, leaving some half-naked and traumatized.
As investigations into this heinous act continue, the harrowing attack serves as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by innocent travellers on Nigeria’s highways. The authorities are urged to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and enhance security measures to safeguard the lives and property of citizens.
“They locked us inside the 59-seat luxury bus and set it ablaze,” another survivor said.
“We thank God that we later escaped; nobody died, but everything we had was collected.”
“We thank God that we didn’t lose anyone, but we lost everything we were travelling with and some sustained injuries.”
“The armed robbers attacked us at Ijebu Ode. They stripped us of our dresses and belongings and beat us mercilessly. They forced us back into the bus and set it ablaze. But we are grateful to God that nobody was burnt to death because we all managed to escape from the burning vehicle alive.
“Though some of us sustained injuries, and we all lost our belongings because the robbers took everything with them, including the clothes some of us were wearing. We have been stranded here since 2 a.m. on Saturday morning: men, women, and children who are innocently travelling to the east to celebrate Easter.”
