More facts have emerged on how daredevil gunmen on Friday night set ablaze one of the buses belonging to Ifesinachi Transport Nigeria with 59 passengers onboard along the Ijebu-Ode axis of Ogun State.
The update was contained in a Save-Our-Soul (SOS) message sent to the Federal Government by the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), asking the government to come to the aid of the transporters by improving security across the country.
The luxury bus, which was on its way to Abakaliki, was attacked by the gunmen at night.
Sources close to the scene of the incident told journalist that the gunmen had earlier stripped the passengers of their belongings, forced them back into the vehicle, and locked it from outside before setting it ablaze with all the passengers onboard.
But, it was learned that the passengers were bold enough to smash the glass windows and climb out of the bus before the bus was completely consumed by the raging inferno.
However, the management of Ifesinachi Transport Nig Ltd, on Sunday confirmed that the ill-fated bus belonged to one of its fleet.
The company also confirmed that the vehicle took off from Maza-Maza in Lagos, on Good Friday, March 29, en route to Abakaliki in Ebonyi State.
Prince Emeka Mamah, the Managing Director, Ifesinachi Motors in an interview with news correspondent on Sunday, stated that the company was still in shock over this new dimension to armed robbery, which he said was accompanied by terrorism.
Mamah regretted that armed robbers now operate like terrorists and called on the government to take a proactive step to curb the growing menace. He said: “I can’t imagine the motive behind the burning of the bus after robbing the passengers of all their phones and valuables, plus the limited cash on hand.
“It is a very dangerous trend, which needs to be investigated and a stop put to it. If nothing is done now, we may not be lucky next time as no casualty was recorded Friday night, but anything could happen to anyone when next they strike.”
Mr. Nonso Ubajaka, President of the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), in his reaction to the incident, decried the rising cases of robbery and kidnapping targeted at members’ vehicles on various routes across the country in recent times.
He, however, said that robbing and burning a luxury bus with 59 passengers on board was unprecedented, describing such an act as terrorism.
Ubajaka further appealed to the Federal Government and the various security agencies to urgently devise new strategies to tackle the rising wave of insecurity in the country, and particularly make the highways safer for transporters and travellers.
He said: “Something very drastic has to be done urgently to arrest this ugly dimension to highway robbery. The passengers whose bus was set ablaze at Ijebu Ode were lucky to have escaped. Who knows what next the robbers would do? Maybe they will use dynamite next time.
“And that is why everybody should be worried, including the government and the security agencies. These days when air fares are going out of the reach of average Nigerians, many people are now using comfortable, long-distance buses instead. But, how can people feel safe when the buses are frequently attacked these days.”
Also, a passenger who narrated the incident early Saturday morning in a video recording that showed parts of the long bus still burning, confirmed that no life was lost, though, according to him, some of them sustained various degrees of injuries.
The passenger, who like many other victims, lost his shirt and other belongings to the robbers, said: “This is the night bus (showing the charred remains of the 59-seater vehicle) in which we were traveling home for Easter on Friday.
“The armed robbers attacked us at Ijebu Ode, and dealt with us: They stripped us of our dresses and belongings and beat us mercilessly. Some of us have manchette wounds
“They forced us back into the bus and set it ablaze. But, we are grateful to God that nobody was burnt to death because we all managed to escape from the burning vehicle alive. Though some of us sustained only injuries, we all lost our belongings because the robbers took everything with them, including even the clothes some of us were wearing.”
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