15 Missing As Unknown Gunmen Attack Passenger Bus In Taraba

No fewer than 15 people, including women and children, have reportedly gone missing after unknown gunmen suspected to be vigilantes attacked a travelling bus in Taraba State.

Reports obtained by Naija News on Wednesday revealed that the 18-passenger bus travelling from Zaki/Biam in Benue State to Maihura in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State was attacked at Gankwe village along the Donga-Mararaban-Baissa road in the Donga Local Government Area of the state.

The bus driver, Mpuuga Mbaave, who narrowly escaped death and sustained machete wounds, recounted the harrowing incident to journalists over the phone, detailing how the armed men in vigilante attire targeted his vehicle.

“I loaded 18 passengers from Zaki/Biam in Benue State to Maihura in Taraba state, and on our way close to Mararaba, I saw many people in Vigilante uniform. I suspected something was wrong, so I parked the vehicle.

“One of the villagers who was passing by told me that I should proceed. According to him, two members of the Vigilante personnel were killed by kidnappers, and the vigilante came to carry their corpses.

“As I moved closer, some of the Vigilante personnel started shouting, ‘kill all of them,’ kill all of them,’ it’s their people (Tiv) that killed our members, and they started attacking the passengers and cutting them with machetes,

“They ordered the passengers out of the bus, forced them to lie facedown. I refused to come down, but when I discovered that it was getting out of hand, I decided to jump out of the bus and ran away. My conductor, too, followed me. They came after us cutting us with a machete, but we ran for our dear lives,” the PUNCH quoted the driver saying.

The Chairman of Doonga Local Government Council, Hon. Ezra Voka, has verified the progress by stating that he is currently in the adjacent forest actively looking for unaccounted-for individuals.

“Please my friend, I am already in the bush in search of the missing people. We cannot talk much now till when I get more information from here,” he said.