15 killed, many kidnapped as gunmen terrorise Kaduna-Abuja road

 

No fewer than 15 people were killed on Sunday and many others abducted when kidnappers blocked the Kaduna-Abuja expressway.

A witness who spoke to Daily Trust said the incident happened around Gidan Busa, a village not far away from Rijana, about 133 kilometres to Abuja.

It was gathered that nearly 20 vehicles were forced to stop at the bushy and sloppy location when the gunmen laid siege with no security presence in sight.

According to witnesses, 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.

“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. 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.

“The second hummer bus and a saloon car were also affected.  Our vehicle, a Volkswagen Golf car was the fourth in the line facing the gunmen and when our driver noticed what was happening, he veered off the road,” Mamman said.

He added that “Many vehicles coming from behind, I think nearly 20 of them were forced to stop also. Many passengers, who have the agility, including those in our vehicle, took to their heels.

“I didn’t run away and I don’t know why; I only moved closer to the median of the road and squad. I saw when the attackers shepherded some of those kidnapped into the bush,” he said. Mamman said after some time, the police arrived at the scene.

“Some policemen came to the rescue and I also participated in recovering some of the people killed and those who sustained injuries from gunshots.

“The vehicles that blocked the road were cleared by the police and some good Samaritans and that was when people started moving. I dropped on the way to Abuja because I was heading towards Bwari,” he said.