Armed bandits intercept luxury bus, rob passengers

…Set vehicle ablaze

Over the weekend, a terrifying incident unfolded as a group of armed bandits intercepted a luxury bus en route Abakaliki, robbing all passengers before setting the vehicle on fire.

Confirming the incident, the State Command of the Nigeria Police Force in a statement released on Monday morning, revealed that the passengers, who were heading to the Southeast for Easter festivities, fell victim to the attack.

According to SP Omolola Odutola, spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, the incident occurred at Oke Ado junction in Ijebu Mushin along the Ijebu Ode-Ore-Benin expressway. The armed bandits, armed with cutlasses, burned down a luxury Mercedes-Benz bus that was coming from Maza Maza.

Remarkably, despite the audacious robbery, all 59 passengers onboard managed to escape the bus before it was engulfed in flames.

Reports indicate that the robbers had initially looted the passengers and then locked them inside the vehicle before setting it ablaze.

Ifesinachi Transport Nig. Ltd. confirmed the attack, revealing that the bus belonged to the company and had embarked on its journey from Maza Maza, Lagos, on Good Friday, bound for Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

The management expressed shock and dismay over the incident, as investigations continue into the brazen robbery and arson.

In a distress video gone viral on social media platforms, X (formerly Twitter) particularly, one of the survivors, Chude Nnamdi, recounted the harrowing experience, saying, “We were travelling in the night to come back to the East for Easter celebration, and criminals attacked us in Ijebu Ode along the Ore/Benin expressway.”

The victims described how the bandits, armed and menacing, seized their belongings and subjected them to a terrifying ordeal.

“They robbed us of everything we had; some they stripped half-naked.”

Another survivor who spoke to this news platform said, “They locked us inside the 59-seat luxury bus and set it ablaze.

“We thank God that we later escaped; nobody died, but everything we had was collected.

“We thank God that we didn’t lose anyone, but we lost everything we were travelling with and some sustained injuries.

“The armed robbers attacked us at Ijebu Ode. They stripped us of our dresses and belongings and beat us mercilessly. They forced us back into the bus and set it ablaze. But we are grateful to God that nobody was burnt to death because we all managed to escape from the burning vehicle alive.

“Though some of us sustained injuries, and we all lost our belongings because the robbers took everything with them, including the clothes some of us were wearing. We have been stranded here since 2 a.m. Saturday morning: men, women, and children who are innocently travelling to the east to celebrate Easter.”