Gunmen have kidnapped five students of Rivers State University (RSU) and 14 bus passengers in separate incidents in Rivers and Imo states of Nigeria.
The RSU students were abducted from their off-campus residence in Emuoha, Emohua Local Government Area, around 2 am on Tuesday December 2, The attackers, suspected to be cultists, shot and killed the security dog before taking the students away. The police have launched a manhunt for the abductors and deployed tactical teams to secure the students’ release.
“They were abducted by cultists. In the early hours of Tuesday, a group of cultists numbering five stormed an isolated area of Rumuchi/Rumuohia, shot and abducted five persons to an unknown destination.We (the police) have put efforts in place for their safe rescue. As I speak, the Commissioner of Police has gone there with tactical teams to ensure they regain their freedom”. Grace Iringe-Koko, Rivers State Police Public Relations Officers told the media.
In another separate attact in Imo, gunmen hijacked an Aba-bound bus with 14 passengers along the Ngor Okpala axis of the Owerri-Aba Road on Monday December 1, evening. The attackers emerged from the bush, shot sporadically, and took control of the bus. A source told the reporters “They came out of the bush and started shooting; and then kidnapped passengers in a fully loaded bus. Many passengers ran out of their vehicles, some ran into the bush, others ran back; the situation was terrifying”.
The incidents have raised concerns about rising insecurity in the country, with analysts attributing the situation to economic hardship, weak governance, and regional threats. With attacks in Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi and other states in the past month of November.
