By Fidel Ozugha
Passengers traveling to Abakaliki from Lagos on Friday night were attached by gunmen at Ijebu-Ode. Numbering about 59, the passengers were attacked, robbed and set fire on the luxury bus belonging to Ifesinachi Transport conveying them to Abakaliki, Ebonyi State
Narrating the incident, one of the passengers explained that it happened in the night around 2:00 am in the morning of Friday when every passenger was almost asleep with none expecting such.
The dare-devil robbers had earlier stripped them of their belongings, and locked the vehicle from outside before torching it
Front view of the charred body of the luxury bus
What triggered the robbers to set the bus ablaze with passengers inside could not be ascertained but the saving grace was risking of their lives as they smashed the glass windows and climbed out of the bus to avoid being burnt alive by the raging fire.
Confirming the story, the management of Ifesinachi Transport Nig Ltd, explained that the luxury bus affected belonged to the company. The vehicle took off from Maza Maza in Lagos, on Good Friday, March 29, enroute Abakaliki, Ebonyi State without any thought of such.
In his own view, the Managing Director/CEO of Ifesinachi, Prince Emeka Mamah, expressed shock over the incident, describing it as a ”new dimension to armed robbery which is now accompanied by terrorism.”
Side view of the burnt luxury bus
Also reacting to the incident, The National President of the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), Mr. Nonso Ubajaka, bemoaned the rising cases of robbery and kidnapping targeted at members’ vehicles on various routes across the country lately and implored authorities at both local, state and federal governments to act immediately to safeguard travelers nationwide.
.
“But, robbing and burning a luxury bus with 59 passengers on board is unprecedented. This is no longer robbery. It is terrorism,” Ubajaka said on Sunday.
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 injuries.
The passenger, who like many other victims, lost his shirt and other belongings to the robbers, narrated, “This is the night bus (showing the charred remains of the 59-seater vehicle) in which we were travelling 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 Matchett 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.
“We have been stranded here since 2 am (Saturday morning): Men, women and children who are innocently traveling to the east to celebrate Easter.
Prince Mamah lamented, “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.
Get your e-copy sold by Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited
“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.”
Also speaking further, Ubajaka appealed to the Federal Government and the various security agencies to urgently device new strategies to tackle the rising insecurity in the country, and particularly make the highways safer for transporters and travellers.
The shocked ALBON National President appealed that, “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 the comfortable, long distance buses instead. But, how can people feel safe when the buses are frequently attacked these days. That’s why I said the government should do something before it is too late.”
In the video of the incident circulating in the social media, the stranded passengers are shown lamenting over what they are passing through in the highway at the dead of night. Children, some men, ladies and mother are seen sitting on the pavement of the expressway looking for help. Though no life was lost but some of got some wounds, matchet cuts, broken legs plus loss of their belongings that were robbed and burnt.
