Passengers escape as gunmen shoot driver on Abuja-Lokoja road

Passengers escaped abduction as gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, shot and injured the driver of an 18-seater bus near Akpogu village along the Abuja-Lokoja highway. A resident of the village, Danlami Hussaini, said the incident happened on Wednesday, around 7 p.m. when the gunmen, wielding sophisticated weapons, emerged from the nearby bush and opened fire […]

Passengers escaped abduction as gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, shot and injured the driver of an 18-seater bus near Akpogu village along the Abuja-Lokoja highway.

A resident of the village, Danlami Hussaini, said the incident happened on Wednesday, around 7 p.m. when the gunmen, wielding sophisticated weapons, emerged from the nearby bush and opened fire on the bus.

He said the 18-seater Toyota commuter bus conveying passengers was coming from the Abuja axis when the gunmen struck.

He said the gunmen attempted to shoot the driver directly on the head but missed the target, and the bullet hit the driver on his left hand.

According to him, the driver still summoned courage and managed to escape the attack, before later parking at Akpogu village.

“It was the sound of the gunshot that attracted my attention because my house is very close to the highway. So immediately I heard the sound, it immediately occurred to me they were kidnappers,” he said.

He said it was at that point he quickly stepped out and walked to the roadside and saw the bus and passengers standing, adding that he immediately alerted some vigilantes from the community who mobilized to the scene and took the driver to the hospital in Lokoja.

“The driver was lying on the ground by the road in a pool of his blood until when I quickly alerted some vigilantes who arrived at the scene and conveyed him to the hospital in Lokoja,” he said.

Danlami said the passengers later joined a luxury bus and one other commuter bus to continue their journey to the east.

A member of the vigilante, simply identified as Suleiman, also confirmed the incident, saying the bus driver who sustained a bullet wound had been taken to the hospital in Lokoja for treatment.

He said the bus passengers escaped unhurt, noting that none of them fell victim to abduction due to the courage of the driver who managed to escape.

Our reporter reliably gathered that some gunmen mostly target vehicles at night in the axis due to the deplorable state of the road and a big hill that always makes it difficult for vehicles to speed.

A police source from the area said the division was not aware of the incident, but said the police would find out from the vigilantes about the incident.