18 bus passengers kidnapped in Niger State

Bandits have kidnapped 18 passengers of a bus belonging to the Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA) at Yakila village in the Rafi Local Government Area of the state.

The bus travelling from Kontagora to Minna, the state capital, was reportedly intercepted by the bandits Sunday afternoon by the bandits.

The passengers were said to have been matched into the forest by the gunmen amid sporadic shootings.

This created panic among people in the area as villagers scampered for safety, according to an eye witness account.

Chief of Staff to the Niger state Governor, Ibrahim Balarebe, reportedly arrived at the scene of the Sunday kidnap about three minutes after the incident.

Balarebe was said to be coming from an official engagement in Kagara, headquarters of the Rafi Local Government.

The Yakila village and its environs are said to have become bandits’ enclave in recent times with series of attacks. For instance, the traditional ruler of the area was recently abducted and later killed.

The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Mallam Ibrahim Inga, confirmed the incident.

Inga, who was on his way from Kagara for the revalidation of his All Progressives Congress (APC) membership in company with the Chief of Staff, said they met the scene where the bandit operated.

He also said they met a woman with her child left by the bandits who told them that other 18 passengers in the bus had been taken away.

“The only thing I can tell you now is we have rescued the woman and her baby and she is in the vehicle with us and we are on our way to Minna. She told us that the bandits blocked the way and went away with other passengers in the bus,” he said.

Inga added, “The woman is traumatised and we cannot be asking her too many questions for now.”