Kaduna-Abuja road: Troops rescue 9 victims
The Kaduna Commissioner, Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan confirmed the rescue
File Photo
Troops of the Operation Thunder Strike have rescued nine of the Kidnapped persons on the Kaduna-Abuja Road on Sunday.
Daily Trust had reported that gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Sunday evening opened fire on a bus, killing 15 passengers and abducted many travelers at Gidan -Busa village, along Abuja-Kaduna road.
The Kaduna Commissioner, Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan confirmed the rescue of the nine victims on Monday.
He said the rescue operation was as a result of information received by the state government from the operational feedback from the Defence Headquarters’s Operation Thunder Strike (OPTS) following Sunday’s incident, and inquiries from citizens on the development.
According to him, the troops of the Operation on a routine patrol along Akilubu-Gidan Busa axis on the Kaduna-Abuja road, received a distress call around 4: pm of bandits blocking the main highway.
“While on getting to the location, the armed bandits had already kidnapped nine persons from an 18-seater bus with registration No. Kaduna: MKA-151, in which the troops immediately mobilized and engaged the bandits and rescued nine kidnapped persons,” he said.
How gunmen launched attack
It was gathered that nearly 20 vehicles were forced to stop at the bushy and sloppy location when the gunmen laid siege.
It was gathered that apart from the over 15 people reportedly killed by the gunmen, many others including women and children were kidnapped and taken to the bush.
Witnesses said the kidnappers armed with sophisticated weapons stormed the highway and opened fire on unsuspecting travellers who were heading to Abuja from the Kaduna axis.
The attackers blocked the traffic after firing shots at speeding vehicles, which forced them to stop. It was learnt that some people who attempted to flee were shot.
“The first vehicle to be attacked was an 18-seater bus, which was fully loaded,” a witness who gave his name as Mamman, told the Daily Trust on phone. He said he was on his way to Abuja from his home town in Katsina.
“I am among the survivors; I saw everything that happened. I participated in evacuating the death from the road,” he said.
While giving a graphic description of what happened, Mamman said bullets hit the driver of the first hummer bus and killed him instantly, forcing the vehicle to wobble for seconds and then stopped across the road.
“There were three vehicles in front of ours when the kidnappers suddenly appeared on the road and started shooting sporadically.
“The two buses and a wagon in the front were the first to be attacked. They opened fire on them. The first one moved unsteadily from side to side before it stopped.
In the last few years, hundreds of people have been killed on the road while families of those kidnapped had to pay ransom to free their loved ones.