Kaduna govt confirms bandit attacks on travellers on highway linking Abuja

The Kaduna State government on Saturday confirmed the bandit attacks on travellers along the Kaduna-Abuja highway.

A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, had said on Friday that an unspecified number of people were abducted by bandits on the busy highway.

He added that the hoodlums blocked the highway and forced motorists to make a U-turn.

The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who confirmed the incident in a statement, said security agencies had not confirmed the number of people possibly abducted on the highway.

READ ALSO: FRSC prosecutes 2,362 traffic offenders in Kaduna

He said: “At around 3:30 p.m., the Security Operations Room, a 24-hour hub, started receiving distress calls of a blockage around Kurmin Kare area of Kaduna-Abuja Road and immediately, contact was established with the Commanding Officer of Operation Thunder Strike (OPTS), a Defence Headquarters outfit, and Operation Puff Adder of the Nigeria Police for immediate counteraction.

“The troops and the police operatives swiftly moved to the general area, saw motorists stranded on both lanes, and subsequently cleared the road.

”The personnel after clearing the accumulated traffic saw one Honda car with Reg. No. RBC 864BL recovered with broken rear windscreen and another vehicle found empty with some luggage. From preliminary findings, the occupant or occupants may have been unaccounted for.

“Furthermore, beside the Honda vehicle, the following five citizens hidden in the forest appeared with their driver who confirmed they were complete having escaped in the commotion:

“As of this moment (9:40 a.m.), the status of the occupant(s) of the Honda cannot be substantiated, and the veracity of the report that scores were kidnapped cannot be confirmed.

“The public will be briefed as soon as the Government of Kaduna State receives operational feedback.”

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