By Teddy Nwanunobi
No fewer than seven passengers were kidnapped by suspected terrorists along the Kabba Road in Kogi State, a lucky driver, who escaped the ugly incident, narrated.
The driver, who disclosed the incident in a video shared online by an Instagram user identified as Ominyi Motors, said that he was in an Abuja-bound bus with the kidnapped victims.
According to the post, the driver eventually arrived safely in Abuja around midnight, and successfully handed over the vehicle to its buyer despite the terrifying encounter.
“Yesterday, my driver escaped being kidnapped by bandits on his way to Abuja. He’s safe, and car is safe. By God’s grace, he arrived Abuja by 12 a.m. Car was handed over to the buyer,” the user wrote.
In the viral video, the visibly distressed driver narrated how the attackers stopped vehicles and forcefully removed passengers before marching them away.
“I escaped kidnapping just now. This bus you are seeing, they packed all the passengers commot (All the passengers in this bus were forced to get down).
“As they block me, as they carry gun facing me, I leave my motor (When they blocked me and pointed guns at me, I abandoned my vehicle),” the driver said in Pidgin English.
The driver explained that the attack occurred along the Kabba road in Kogi State, an area that has repeatedly witnessed reports of kidnappings and armed attacks on travellers.
“Nah here all of them enter, they park passengers. Nah that Kabba lonely road and this place no good (This was where all of them entered after forcing the passengers to get down. That lonely Kabba road and this area are not safe),” he said.
According to him, about seven passengers were abducted during the incident while the gunmen continued moving victims into the bush
“About seven passengers, and as e dey carry them dey go nah so I take off (There were about seven passengers, and as they were being taken away, I fled),” he recounted.
The driver said he escaped by running into safety despite hearing gunshots behind him.
“Na so me I run. I know that them dey fire but I no say e no fit enter body nah (That was how I ran. I knew they were shooting, but I didn’t think the bullets could actually hit me).
“As I leave the motor run, the key dey my body (I left the vehicle running, and I was still holding the key),” he said.
He further disclosed that one of the passengers in his vehicle was unable to escape because he could not run fast enough.
“The guy wey I carry for front, the guy no dey fortified. So, e no fit run, they carry ham join the passenger (The man I had in the front seat was not strong enough to escape, so they took him along with the other passengers),” he added.
The incident has again raised concerns over worsening insecurity on highways connecting Abuja and parts of North Central Nigeria, where armed groups frequently target commuters for kidnapping and ransom.