- 12 wedding-bound travellers killed as mob attacks commercial bus in Plateau
Hon. Justice E. G. Umokoro, a judge of the High Court of Bayelsa State, was on Saturday kidnapped by gunmen.
Umokoro of Yenagoa High Court 7 was kidnapped in front of a popular eatery known as Kilimanjaro, Ekeki, at about 7 pm.
Eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime stated that the hooded gunmen clad in black uniforms shot at him but missed
They blocked him with an unmarked white Hilux van and whisked him away.
The masked gunmen did not take away the black Toyota Prado jeep in which he was riding at the time of his abduction.
A video of the crime scene was posted on Facebook by a blogger, “This is Bayelsa.”
In the video, which is trending on social media, the victim was seen struggling with his abductors, who forced him into the white Hilux before driving away.
The incident threw the area into pandemonium as people scampered for safety.
In another development, no fewer than 12 travellers from the Basawa community in Zaria, Kaduna State, were killed during an attack in Mangu, Plateau State, on Friday.
Eleven others sustained injuries and are currently receiving hospital treatment.
The victims, a group of 31 men, women, and children, were travelling in an 18-seater bus belonging to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, when assailants attacked them around 8pm.
Report indicated that the travellers were heading for Qua’an Pan LGA to attend a wedding ceremony when they ran into a mob.
The Chief Imam of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa’ikamatis Sunnah, Sheikh Suleiman Haruna, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said the corpses have been deposited at Mangu General Hospital.
“There were 31 travellers in the bus. Now we have 8 corpses in the hospitals. We have asked the security personnel to help recover the remaining four bodies. We were together with the chairman of Mangu LGA, and he has been up and doing on the matter, “ the Chief Imam said.
Ibrahim Umar, one of the survivors, narrated that, “We were heading to Qua’an Pan to attend a wedding ceremony of our brother when we missed the road because we didn’t know it. We stopped and asked some people for directions, but before we knew it, they surrounded the vehicle, shouting that we should be killed.
“They started beating and attacking us with dangerous weapons. The mob killed the driver first and then attacked others. They burned the bus with the corpses inside. We are now in the hospital, receiving care.”
When contacted, the spokesperson of the state police command, DSP Alfred Altau, said, “The police were aware of the incident but would issue a statement regarding it later.”
These incidents are alarming. The abduction of a High Court judge in Bayelsa and the tragic killing of wedding-bound travelers in Plateau highlight the urgent need for improved security measures to protect citizens and uphold the rule of law.