Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers attacked a commercial bus in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, injured three passengers and reportedly abducted others.
The incident happened along Iju/Itaogbolu/Ikere-Ekiti road on Monday evening, May 15, 2023.
It was gathered that the commercial driver and his passengers were coming from Ado-Ekiti and heading to Akure, the capital of Ondo State when the gunmen numbering about five and armed with guns and other dangerous weapons started shooting sporadically causing the vehicle to run into a ditch.
Sources said some of the injured passengers left behind are currently receiving medical attention at a private health facility in Ikere-Ekiti.
“Three occupants of the vehicle escaped with gunshot injuries. We cannot say specifically about the remaining three, but people believe they were taken to the bush by the gun,” a source told the PUNCH.
Recounting his ordeal, one of the injured passengers, who claimed to be a civil servant, said he boarded the vehicle from Ado-Ekiti to Akure at about 4:30pm on the fateful day.
He explained that they were attacked by the gunmen at a damaged portion of the road between Ikere-Ekiti and Iju in Ondo State.
Spokesperson of the Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, who confirmed the incident, however, claimed it was an attempted robbery.
“It was not a kidnapping incident, though we are still investigating because we are looking at an attempted armed robbery,” the PPRO stated.
“About three persons were injured in the attack and we have not received a report of any traveller kidnapped. Those that were affected are receiving treatment in hospital and investigation has commenced as directed by the state Commissioner of Police, Dare Ogundare, to ensure that those who perpetrated the act are brought to book,” he added.
Also confirming the incident, the Commandant of the Amotekun Corps in Ekiti State, Brigadier Joe Komolafe, said his men and other sister security agencies were combing the bush in the area to rescue the victims without harm.