Along the Evwreni and Ogor axis of the East-West in the Ughelli North local government area of Delta State, gunmen posing as Fulani herdsmen have kidnapped no less than eighteen people who were traveling in a private company bus from Warri to Bayelsa state.
The incident which occurred last Tuesday at about 5:00 pm at the Evwreni axis was reported by the supervisor of the transport company.
It would be recalled that 9 students including a Naval Officer, returning from school in Calabar, Cross Rivers state were allegedly abducted at the same axis on the eve of Good Friday and were released after 72 hours.
According to a security source from the Delta State Police Command, “The Supervisor of the transport line, name withheld reported that the one of their buses loaded with passengers from Warri to Bayelsa was blocked along the Ughelli-Patani road, around Evwreni axis and they were all kidnapped and taken to unknown destination.
“Though contact has been made but it could not be ascertained if ransom was demanded to secure their release,” the anonymous source revealed.
Contacted, the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Edafe Bright said, “The issue is that the driver did not know where exactly that thing happened because he claimed that there was a kidnap.
“What we are suspecting is that if at all there was a kidnap, that thing happened in Bayelsa and not in Delta because on that route the Area Commander and DPO went round and there was nobody that heard or experienced it.
“But because people came to report to us, we now hold the driver who claimed that some people were kidnapped and he carried the other to their destination without reporting to the police, it became suspicious.
“How would Kidnappers kidnap some passengers and leave the others, who were the others that he dropped at their destination.
“As I am speaking with you now, the driver is being detained because his story is not clear why and got the record, that kidnapping did not happen as we did not have any evidence that it took place in Delta if at all that it happened,” he said.