Terrorists abduct travellers at Edo train station, police comb bush

An unspecified number of travellers were on Saturday evening abducted by suspected terrorists who attacked them while waiting to board a train from Igueben in the Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State to Warri, Delta State.

It was not immediately clear if any of the travellers was killed by the attackers but the Edo State Police Command confirmed that some of them sustained gunshot wounds.

The train had not arrived when the terrorists invaded the Igueben station around 4pm and started shooting in the air, the police said.

This is coming less than a year after terrorists attacked some train passengers in Kaduna, killing seven and abducting over 60 others.

The incident forced the Federal Government to suspend train operation on the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor for over six months until the last batch of the captives were released.

The Edo police command, in a press statement signed by its spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor, stated that the Saturday attackers armed with AK-47 rifles shot sporadically into the air before herding an unspecified number of travellers into the bush.

“The kidnappers who shot sporadically into the air before kidnapping some passengers left some persons with bullet wounds. The Area Commander, Irrua; the DPO (Divisional Police Officer) Igueben Division, and their men have visited the scene of crime with members of Edo State Security Network, local vigilante, 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 development will be communicated,” the statement explained.