ON Saturday morning, March 30, 2024, 59 passengers boarded Ifesinachi Luxurious Bus from MazaMaza along Lagos-Badagry Expressway en route Abakaliki, Ebonyi State at about 2.00am.
But along the way, the unexpected happened at Ijebu-Imusin along Shagamu-Ore-Benin Expressway, they were ambushed by dreaded armed robbers who stripped them and robbed them of all their belongings.
As if that was not enough, the wicked men forcefully locked all the passengers including women and children inside bus and set it ablaze but they were lucky to have escaped being burnt alive as they escaped through the windows.
In a viral video monitored by SOJ WORLDWIDE Correspondent on X.com, the passengers were seen stranded in middle of the road with kids, ladies and some men who have been stripped half naked.
The Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), has sent a Save-Our-Soul (SOS) message to the Federal Government to come to the aid of the transporters by improving security across the country.
READ ALSO: NAIRA Rates Against The USD, GBP, EURO Today April 2, 2024
The management of Ifesinachi Transport Nig Ltd, on Sunday confirmed to our correspondent that the ill-fated bus belonged to one of its fleet.
The company also confirmed that the vehicle took off from Maza-Maza in Lagos, on Good Friday, March 29, en route Abakaliki in Ebonyi State.
Prince Emeka Mamah, the Managing Director, Ifesinachi Motors in an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, stated that the company was still in shock over this new dimension to armed robbery, which he said was accompanied by terrorism.
Mamah regretted that armed robbers now operate like terrorists and called on the government to take a proactive step to curb the growing menace.
He said:
“I can’t imagine the motive behind the burning of the bus after robbing the passengers of all their phones and valuables, plus the limited cash on hand.
READ ALSO: INSIDE LIFE: University Lecturer murdered on campus [READ FULL DETAILS]
“It is a very dangerous trend, which needs to be investigated and a stop put to it. If nothing is done now, we may not be lucky next time as no casualty was recorded Friday night, but anything could happen to anyone when next they strike.”
Mr. Nonso Ubajaka, President of the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), in his reaction to the incident, decried the rising cases of robbery and kidnapping targeted at members’ vehicles on various routes across the country in recent time.
He, however, said that robbing and burning a luxury bus with 59 passengers on board was unprecedented, describing such act as terrorism.
Ubajaka further appealed to the Federal Government and the various security agencies to urgently device new strategies to tackle the rising wave of insecurity in the country, and particularly make the highways safer for transporters and travellers.
He said:
“Something very drastic has to be done urgently to arrest this ugly dimension to highway robbery. The passengers whose bus was set ablaze at Ijebu Ode were lucky to have escaped. Who knows what next the robbers would do? Maybe they will use dynamite next time.
READ ALSO: IGBOHO, Gani Adams Fights Dirty, Cross Allegation On Who Killed Bola Ige Surfaces
“And that is why everybody should be worried, including the government and the security agencies. These days when air fares are going out of the reach of average Nigerians, many people are now using the comfortable, long distance buses instead. But, how can people feel safe when the buses are frequently attacked these days.”
Also, a passenger who narrated the incident early Saturday morning in a video recording that showed parts of the long bus still burning, confirmed that no life was lost, though, according to him, some of them sustained various degrees of injuries.
The passenger, who like many other victims, lost his shirt and other belongings to the robbers, said:
“This is the night bus (showing the charred remains of the 59-seater vehicle) in which we were travelling home for Easter on Friday.
“The armed robbers attacked us at Ijebu Ode, and dealt with us: They stripped us of our dresses and belongings and beat us mercilessly. Some of us have manchette wounds.
READ ALSO: PRESIDENT Tinubu At 72: Leadership In Challenging Times By TUNDE RAHMAN (FOR THE RECORDS)
“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 only injuries, we all lost our belongings because the robbers took everything with them, including even the clothes some of us were wearing.”
Another passenger narrated their ordeals,
“Ifesinachi Motors, we were travelling in the night to come back to the East for Easter celebration, and criminals attacked us in Ijebu Ode along Ore-Benin Expressway.
“They robbed us of everything we had, some they stripped half-naked.
They locked us inside the 59-seater 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.
READ ALSO: https://www.sojworldnews.com/unilorin-expels-five-suspends-14-for-examination-malpractices-theft/
“This is Ifesinachi Motors that we are travelling with on Friday night and this attack happened around 2am.
Click for more news updates here: http://www.sojworldnews.com
“They stripped us half-naked. You can see it; the people in the vehicle are completely stranded. There are some people who were macheted and some who broke their legs. We have children among us.”
Meanwhile, The spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Sunday.
Odutola said,
“It happened in Oke Ado junction at Ijebu Mushin. A luxury Mercedes Benz bus was burnt down. The vehicle was coming from Maza Maza before it encountered the hoodlums. No reference to gun was made.They (the hoodlums) wielded cutlasses.”
WATCH STRANDED PASSENGERS AND REMAINS OF THE LUXURIOUS BUS BURNT: https://x.com/ejykmykel1/status/1774357586994671984?s=20
READ ALSO: NAIRA Rates Against The USD, GBP, EURO Today April 2, 2024
YOU can join our WhatsApp Broadcast List for our news updates by sending your name and location to WhatsApp No. 09069473894
PLEASE SEND STRICTLY TO WHATSAPP, DONT SEND SMS MESSAGE.
FOR your Advert Placement, Press Release, Press Conference, Interviews, Media & Publicity.
CONTACT OUR WHATSAPP NO. 09069473894
Leave a Reply