Police officer

The police in Katsina State have foiled an attempt by bandits to abduct several passengers along the Funtua-Gusau road.Spokesperson for the state governor, Ibrahim Mohammed, said the incident occurred on Monday, and that the bandits shot at two passenger vehicles. He, however, said that five of the passengers were still missing, adding that search for them was ongoing.

“In a late-night attack on Monday, May 6, armed bandits struck along the Funtua-Gusau road, setting up a barricade near Unguwar Boka mine.

“The assailants opened fire on two vehicles, a luxury bus belonging to God Bless Ezenwata (Nig.) Ltd. traveling from Sokoto to Onitsha, and a Volkswagen Golf en route from Gusau to Zaria.

“Both vehicles loaded with passengers lost control and veered off the road due to the gunfire.

“Upon receipt of the information, a police patrol team using Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) swiftly responded and arrived at the scene to find the bandits attempting to abduct passengers.

“The bandits fled into the nearby bush upon sighting them. The security team returned fire, successfully forcing the attackers to abandon their hostages.

“A total of 45 passengers were rescued from the bus, most of them are said to be of Igbo descent. Five additional passengers were rescued from the Golf with registration No: DKA-12YF.

“Thankfully, all rescued individuals are reported unharmed and are currently under safe custody at the station.

“The luxury bus was also retrieved from the bush with some difficulty and brought to the station for safekeeping.

“However, authorities are searching for five passengers who are unaccounted for and are suspected to be missing due to the trauma of the attack.

“Search efforts have been intensified, and further developments will be communicated as they become available,” he said.

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