JANUARY 10 , 2023 | EASTERN PILOT Report By: Ayoola Babalola | Some of the train passengers also sustained gunshot injuries, the police said...
JANUARY 10 , 2023 | EASTERN PILOT
Report By: Ayoola Babalola |
Some of the train passengers also sustained gunshot injuries, the police said in a Sunday statement.
Armed herdsmen invaded the Igueben train station in Edo State yesterday, abducting dozens of passengers and injuring several others. No death has been recorded from the incident. According to a statement by police authorities, the herdsmen, armed with AK47 rifles, attacked the station while passengers were waiting to board the train, shooting sporadically into the air and at the passengers, leaving victims with severe gunshot wounds.
“This is to inform the gentlemen of the press that today, 7th of January, 2023 at about 1600hrs, unspecified number of herdsmen armed with AK 47 rifles attacked the train station at Igueben, Edo State and kidnapped unspecified number of passengers who were waiting to board the train to Warri.
“The kidnappers who shot sporadically into the air before kidnapping some passengers left some persons with bullet wounds. “The Area Commander Irrua, DPO Igueben Division, and men have visited the scene of crime with members of the Edo State Security Network, local vigilantes, and hunters with a view to protecting the lives and property of the remaining passengers,” Chidi Nwabuzor, police spokesperson in Edo state wrote.
Mr Nwabuzor told Peoples Gazette that preliminary findings by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the area shows that the attack was coordinated and executed by herdsmen who had previously been responsible for pockets of violence around the area. He further confirmed that the police along with other security agencies were combing the forests in the area to rescue the abducted victims.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the Saturday attack on the train station in Edo State. The attackers, who the police described as ‘herdsmen,’ shot sporadically before kidnapping a yet-to-be-confirmed number of passengers. Some of the passengers also sustained gunshot injuries, the police said in a Sunday statement. The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) announced the closure of the station in a short message on Sunday.
“Public Announcement: This is to inform our general public and most especially our esteemed passengers, that Ekehen Station has been temporarily closed due to security issues, till further notice,” it wrote. Also, the transportation ministry, which supervises the NRC, has condemned the attack. “The Federal government condemns the despicable and utterly barbaric kidnapping of passengers at Tom Ikimi Train Station Igueben Edo State,” the Director of Press & Public Relations in the ministry, Henshaw Ogubike, wrote in a Sunday statement.
“The Public is hereby reassured that the security Agencies are making efforts to rescue the kidnapped Train passengers. The Nigerian Police is on the trail of the criminals and have mobilised with a view to protecting the lives and property of the remaining passengers. The Government is saddened by this unpleasant development and assures on its prompt response to the ugly situation.”
He said further details about the incident will be communicated later. The Edo attack comes several months after terrorists attacked a Kaduna-bound train in northern Nigeria, killing some passengers and kidnapping dozens of others. Most of the kidnapped passengers were released after the payment of ransom and the rest after the attackers reached a deal with government negotiators.
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