Terrorists blocked the Mokwa-New Bussa Road in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, shot travellers d3ad and kidnapped seven others.
Sources told Daily Trust on Tuesday that the operation happened on Sunday, August 9, five hours after the security agencies in the state met with the officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to direct their members to shelve the ongoing three-day protest over alleged kidnappings and k!llings by bandits on the Mokwa-New Bussa Road.
One of the commercial drivers, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the publication that the first car that left Mokwa to New Bussa after the protest around 6 pm was intercepted between Ibbi and Felegi.
“Shortly after the protest, suspected kidnappers abducted seven travellers along the newly reopened New Bussa–Mokwa Road.
“There is an urgent need for stringent security measures to protect travellers and residents along the route”, he said.
Another driver, Abdulrahman Mustapha, said they have lost three of their drivers and some had been injured apart from those currently in the captivity of bandits.
“Every day, bandits kidnap our people on Mokwa-New Bussa Road. We have lost three drivers on this road. It has become rampant to the extent that bandits are blocking this Mokwa to New-Bussa Road three times some days.
“Sometimes, they don’t even stop vehicles; they just open fire on the moving vehicle. Almost every day, we lose no fewer than three passengers.
“We don’t know who to call to assist us. We used to contact vigilantes in Ibbi, Borgu LGA to assist us, but they stopped coming to our rescue because they are not being taken care of by the government”, he said.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the drivers had reopened the road after the military intervention.
He, however, said he was yet to receive information on fresh kidnappings after the road was opened for movement but promised to revert with details.