The Rivers State Police Command disclosed that three passengers and a driver were missing. This came after armed kidnappers hijacked a bus along Emohua axis of the East-West Road in Rivers State. Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident. He also said that the gunmen struck at Evekwu in Emohua. Omoni added that the police had recovered the bus. Also, they were doing all they could to rescue the victims of the kidnap.
The image maker of the Police in Rivers state said the Command had deployed some men. He sent them to Bakana in Degema Local Government Area, where suspected cultists had killed two persons. He said this while disclosing the arrest of three suspected dreaded gunmen terrorising Diobu in Port Harcourt some months ago.
Increased Crime rate in Rivers state
There is a spike in the recent spate of killings, kidnaps, and general crime in Rivers State.
Just two months ago, news of armed gunmen shooting a police escort and abducting 30 passengers was trending. The gunmen kidnapped 30 passengers of a commercial bus along the Emohua axis of the East-West road. The Police Public Relations Officer confirmed the story.
“I can confirm that hoodlums attacked a certain commercial bus coming from Lagos to Port Harcourt at the East-West road, he said. “The gunmen took about thirty passengers and the driver into the bush. We deployed our men to the scene and were able to recover the bus. We have also contacted the company and the DPO has said they are working on how they can rescue the victims.”
The hoodlums kidnapped a senior staff of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) after killing his police escort and driver. The hijacked bus conveying 30 passengers had left Port Harcourt, the state capital. It was heading to Abua Odual council when the armed kidnappers struck. The vehicle conveying the SPDC staff and his aides was also attacked at the boundary between Rumuji and Evekwu axis. The SPDC staff was returning from Bayelsa State to Port Harcourt when the incident occurred.
A source in the area said the driver of the bus was shot dead after he denied the armed kidnappers access into the vehicle. The attack reportedly occurred close to a police checkpoint.
This increase in the crime rate has caused citizens to condemn the acts, and to appeal to the leadership of the state for intervention.
Source: The Guardian and Daily Post
Also read: Kidnappers kill British aid worker Faye Mooney in Nigeria
