Suspected gunmen have abducted scores of passengers waiting to board a train from Igueben in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State to Warri in Delta State.
The incident which occurred on Saturday evening, January 7, 2023, left many other travellers with bullet wounds.
The Edo Police Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident in a statement.
The statement claimed that the abductors, armed with AK 47, invaded the train station and shot sporadically into the air before abducting scores of intending travellers into the bush.
The Command added that many of the passengers sustained bullet wounds, assuring that operatives were on the trail of the abductors with an aim to rescue those the kidnap victims herded into the bush.
The statement read, “This is to inform the gentlemen of the press that today, 7th of January, 2023 at about 1600hrs, unspecified number of herdsmen armed with AK 47 riffles attacked the train station at Igueben, Edo State and kidnapped 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 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.
“Bush combing operations have commenced in order to rescue the victims and arrest the fleeing kidnappers. Further developments will be communicated”, Nwabuzor stated.
This comes barely a year after terrorists attacked a train on its way from Abuja to Kaduna on March 28, 2022.
About 14 passengers lost their lives in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, while 63 others were declared abducted.
Not long after the attack, the blame game between the federal government and state authorities started.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state said, he had in the past, warned federal authorities to stop operating the trains at night On his part, the minister of transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, said he had requested security equipment in the past.
Meanwhile, the NRC suspended its Abuja-Kaduna train operations following the terrorists’ attack.
The NRC announced its decision in a brief statement on Twitter on Tuesday, March 29, saying its suspension of operations on the route was necessitated by “unforeseen circumstances.
