Suspected herdsmen on Wednesday launched a brutal assault on a bus transporting students from Rivers State University and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education along the Benin-Ore Expressway, abducting 10 students and injuring two others.
The students, all members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church Campus Fellowship, were on their way to Babcock University in Remo, Ogun State, to attend their annual Easter Convention when the attackers struck.
Describing the incident as horrifying, a source told media that the ambush occurred without any intervention from security personnel, despite the area’s history of kidnappings.
“University students from my state university and a sister university were kidnapped and some shot along Ore Road while on their way to Babcock University, Ogun State, today for their normal annual Easter Student Convention,” the source said.
“These students turned out to be my Fellowship Students, National Association of Adventist Students (NAAS), and unfortunately, for me, some of my undergraduate friends and relatives were on this bus.”
Several students managed to escape the gunmen’s bullets by fleeing into the surrounding forest, but some remained missing, while others were captured and taken away by the assailants.
According to the source, gunmen opened fire on the bus, causing panic among the passengers. Two students were shot during the chaos.
One of them sustained a critical wound to the back and is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital after undergoing surgery to remove the bullet.
“He’s currently struggling even to survive after they removed the bullet this night, from what the doctor told me a few minutes ago. I saw people killed by herdsmen a few weeks ago along the ShopRite axis, Federal Secretariat bus stop. And I wept,” the source added.
The abductors have since reached out to the victims’ families, demanding ₦15 million for the students’ release.
“They are demanding N15 million for those under their captivity. It happened. Some were even shot at and sustained lifetime injuries. And some managed to escape,” he revealed.
Shockingly, the source claimed that some of the students who escaped into the forest were still missing hours later.
“10 are still in captivity. Some of the students who made their way into the bush are still wandering in the bush of Ore until now,” he said.
Suspicion also surrounds the bus driver’s conduct during the incident, as he reportedly escaped without injury while the students suffered.
The Ondo-Benin-Ore expressway remains notorious for violent attacks, with repeated calls for stronger security presence seemingly ignored.
Efforts to reach the Ondo State Police Command were unsuccessful, as spokesperson Odunlami Ibukun did not respond to multiple calls or messages.