By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT – Unknown gunmen have abducted eleven passengers in a bus on Ndele-Elele axis of East-West road, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Monday night. The victims were said to have boarded the vehicle at Rumuokoro in Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor LGA, and were travelling to Ndele, Elele and Ahoada before the incident happened.

Vanguard learned that 18 passengers and the driver, making it 19 persons, but said 16 person were in the vehicle when the bandits intercepted 8pm.

Mr. Bright Welekwe, one of the victims, who escaped from the kidnappers during the incident that told Vanguard that three of the passengers had alighted at Ndele before the incident. Welekwe revealed that when the remaining 17 persons were forced into the bush that he sneaked into the bush and ran straight back to the road.

The victim further disclosed that when he got to the road, where the bus was abandoned that he met four of the passengers, who he said had also escaped. He said: “We were 19 that boarded a bus from Rumuokoro going to Ahoada but when we got to Ndele three people dropped after they dropped it did not take long, within the bush between Ndele and Elele Alimini hoodlums ambushed us and tried to take us inside the bush me and other four persons escaped before police personnel arrived the scene.

“But I am sure they did not recover the rest people that night even with the help of soldiers, police officers carried five of us to a place where we saw another vehicle and joined to our destination.”

However, at press time, the Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, has not confirmed the incident, as text and calls made to his phone neither returned nor replied. But, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Ahmed Zaki, who confirmed the incident in a radio station in the state, noted that the police is on top of the situation.

Vanguardngr