Kidnappers Hijack GIG & ABC Buses With Passengers Traveling From South-East To Abuja In Kogi

Armed kidnappers have abducted an unknown number of passengers travelling in two commercial buses heading from the South-East region to Abuja on Saturday morning.

The buses belonging to major transport companies GIG and ABC were conveying passengers along the Inele-Eteke Ogugu new road in Kogi East when they were waylaid by the gunmen.

Eyewitnesses reveal that the kidnapping took place at Inele Eteke Ogugu New Road in Olamaboro, Kogi State.

A social media influencer, Chude Nnamdi, who broke the news on his X handle, said that the two buses belong to GIG and ABC Transports.

Chude said that his wife was in one of the hijacked buses but could not ascertain the number of persons in the two buses.

“The report reaching me this morning is that a GIG and ABC transport buses heading to Abuja were hijacked by kidnappers yesterday in Kogi State.

“The GIG bus left Umuahia at 7:30am and was hijacked at Kogi State. GIG company said they have contacted security services and they are tracking them. The kidnappers phoned this morning via my wife’s phone and were demanding N15 million,” Chude said.

The Kogi State Police Command, while confirming the incident, also could not ascertain the number of people in the buses.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Aya, said the area commander who led his team to the area saw the two buses but did not see the occupants and, therefore, could not ascertain the number of people on the two buses.

“Yes, the incident happened, but the DPO, local vigilantes, and hunters have been in the bush in an effort to rescue the victims” Aya said in a statement issued on Monday in Lokoja.

The PPRO added, “The CP has deployed additional Tactical Squad consisting of Quick Response Unit, Police Mobile Force, Counter-Terrorism Unit, as well as conventional police personnel to the area to continue with the bush combing and to ensure all victims are rescued unhurt.”

The brazen mass abduction has sparked alarm especially given the strategic highway’s importance for travellers transiting across Nigeria’s regions. Stakeholders cited the worrying attack as another sign of surging insecurity even along well-travelled interstate routes, heightening calls for improved safety measures to protect road users.