Bandits Attack Travellers In Ogun, Set Bus On Fire

A group of armed bandits reportedly intercepted a luxury bus heading to Abakaliki over the weekend, robbed all passengers, and then set the vehicle on fire.

The State Command of the Nigeria Police Force confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Monday morning, stating that the passengers were en route to the southeast for Easter festivities at the time of the attack.

The spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola, confirmed the occurrence in a statement, stating that it took place at Oke Ado junction in Ijebu Mushin along the Ijebu Ode-Ore-Benin expressway, where the armed bandits burned down a luxury Mercedes-Benz bus.

She added, “The vehicle was coming from Maza Maza before it encountered the hoodlums. No reference to guns was made. They carried cutlasses.”

It was reported that the audacious robbers had previously robbed all 59 passengers on the bus and then locked the vehicle before setting it on fire.

However, the passengers were able to break the windows and escape from the bus before it was fully engulfed in flames.

Vanguard quoted Ifesinachi Transport Nig. Ltd. to have confirmed the attack, stating that the bus belonged to the company and had departed from Maza Maza, Lagos, on Good Friday, heading to Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. The management expressed shock over the incident.

In a distressing video viral on social media platforms, X particularly, one of the survivors, Chude Nnamdi, recounted the harrowing experience, saying: “Ifesinachi Motors, we were travelling in the night to come back to the East for Easter celebration, and criminals attacked us in Ijebu Ode along the Ore/Benin expressway.”

The victims described how the bandits, armed and menacing, seized their belongings and subjected them to a terrifying ordeal. “They robbed us of everything we had; some they stripped half-naked.

Another survivor who spoke to the news platform said: “They locked us inside the 59-seat luxury bus and set it ablaze.

“We thank God that we later escaped; nobody died, but everything we had was collected.

“We thank God that we didn’t lose anyone, but we lost everything we were travelling with and some sustained injuries.

“The armed robbers attacked us at Ijebu Ode. They stripped us of our dresses and belongings and beat us mercilessly. They forced us back into the bus and set it ablaze. But we are grateful to God that nobody was burnt to death because we all managed to escape from the burning vehicle alive.

“Though some of us sustained injuries, and we all lost our belongings because the robbers took everything with them, including the clothes some of us were wearing. We have been stranded here since 2 a.m. on Saturday morning: men, women, and children who are innocently travelling to the east to celebrate Easter.”