Gunmen attack bus, abduct passengers along Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway

Panic and fear engulfed commuters on Wednesday morning as armed gunmen abducted multiple passengers along the Ezinnachi–Okigwe stretch of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.

The shocking incident, which occurred between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., saw the assailants block the busy highway, intercepting and seizing unsuspecting travelers in a brazen daylight operation. Eyewitnesses reported that no security personnel were present during the ambush, allowing the kidnappers to operate without resistance.

One traveler, who narrowly escaped, recounted his harrowing ordeal. He had departed Umuahia just minutes before the attack, but his driver made a swift U-turn upon spotting the roadblock. “We saw a group of armed men ahead. Luckily, our driver sensed danger and reversed immediately. It was a close call,” the survivor shared.

“We escaped by divine grace. They stationed close to the hospital under construction after Ezinnachi before Okigwe. They shot some people and some vehicles were parked there. We don’t know the exact number of victims. Every vehicle is turning and running back to either Okigwe or Umuahia,” one of the passengers said.

At the time of filing this report, it was not yet clear if security operatives in Imo State had arrived at the scene.

The axis (between Okigwe and Ezinnachi) of late has become a hotbed.

It was observed, however, that about two security checkpoints around the area between Ezinnachi junction and Okigwe junction had been dismantled.

A new security checkpoint has been mounted a few metres after the Okigwe Roundabout, right at a busy area, leaving a large uninhabited stretch of the dual-carriage highway unpoliced.