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Gunmen kidnap bus passengers near Nigeria’s oil hub
WARRI, Nigeria, Dec 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Gunmen kidnapped passengers from
abus near Nigeria’s southern oil hub of Port Harcourt, witnesses said on
Wednesday, in the latest of a series of kidnappings in the restive region.
Witness Precious Awuse told AFP the incident happened on Tuesday morning
on a road in the Emohua area of Rivers state, a frequently travelled
kidnapping hotspot.
“We were driving a few kilometres (miles) behind the 18-seater bus when
the hoodlums struck and we had to abandon our own bus and flee for safety
before the arrival of the police to the scene of the incident,” Awuse said.
“They were dressed in police uniform and had barricaded the road,” said
Alaowie Tonye, another passenger who also saw the kidnapping.
After they fled, the attackers vandalised the bus in apparent anger, he
said.”
Rivers state police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni said the kidnapping was being
investigated but did not give an exact figure of those abducted.
Kidnapping for ransom has long been a problem in southern Nigeria and has
typically targeted prominent individuals and their families.
In August and September 2017, there were a wave of attacks against at
least three commercial buses, indicating sustained economic hardship was
making anyone a target.
While Nigeria’s economy is fuelled by the oil pumped in the south, the
region suffers from chronic poverty and pollution.
In 2016, oil militants demanding a greater share of crude revenues slashed
production with a wave of attacks on pipelines, tipping Nigeria into a
recession from which it is only starting to recover.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1900 hrs