Three buses with 18 passengers each were kidnapped less than a kilometer from a military checkpoint on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway by heavily armed robbers.
On Monday, kidnappers alleged to be ranchers kidnapped tens of travelers between the Leru junction and the Ihube axis of the road.
A ransom of N100 million was paid to liberate Methodist Bishop Dr Samuel Uche and two other bishops who had been kidnapped by herdsmen groups in the same place.
According to Vanguard, the bandits ambushed a group of soldiers dispatched to the scene following a distress call.
They are said to have set a military van on fire and wounded two troops before stealing the three buses and escaping into the jungle.
Locals in Umunneochi, a neighbouring community, have expressed concern over the situation.
They used Saturday’s dark rain to rig up a roadblock, producing gridlock as far as Leru crossroads, because travelers confused the bandits for police officers.
When the robbers opened fire on a military van that arrived to resist the attack, some commuters who had gotten out of their vehicles to investigate the bottleneck fled.
Motorists fled their automobiles and scurried for cover, he claimed, injuring some persons.
As the newly inaugurated Umunneochi Security Committee’s Secretary, Abia State Police Commissioner and Secretary Eze Chikamnayo claimed responsibility for the incident, saying it occurred on Saturday.
His explanation was that it took place on Imo State’s side of the interstate.
He stated he needed more time to confirm the number of casualties, according to the police chief.
In between Ihube and Umunneochi, there’s an expressway where it happened. They have decreased in Umunneochi, but they have moved to the border between Umunneochi and Imo State, where they are more common.
“However, the Umunneochi Security Committee put in a lot of effort. Our vigilantes have been bolstered and may have deterred them by establishing roadblocks.
“I believe that their departure from Umunneochi LGA and subsequent migration towards the express is a sign of victory for us. They’re in Ihube, the border crossing between Abia and Imo, he said.
Geoffrey Ogbonna, the Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, did not pick up the phone when it was rang out.