Nigeria: Gunmen kidnap more than 30 people at a train station

Gunmen kidnapped more than 30 people, some of whom later managed to break free, in an attack on a railway station in southern Nigeria, police and local authorities said on Monday.

Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria, but are mainly committed in the northwest and central regions of Africa’s most populous nation.

In March 2022, gunmen blew up part of the tracks connecting the capital Abuja with Kaduna (north), killing eight people and kidnapping dozens of train passengers, who were released in the following months after ransoms were paid. The latter was not released until October.

The new attack took place on Saturday night at a railway station in Edo state, police and local authorities said.

The attackers, armed with AK-47 assault rifles, opened fire and wounded several before abducting dozens of other passengers waiting for a train to Warri, further south, the same sources said.

Chris Neihare, a spokesman for the authorities in Edo, initially told AFP that 32 people had been kidnapped.

Police and local hunters are chasing the kidnappers, he added.

One of the hostages was able to escape, while six others were released on Monday, according to Mr. Neyhare, who said he was optimistic about the imminent release of the rest.

“We have blocked the zone. We know the forests better than them”, he assured.

Nigerian citizens will elect in February the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, a former general who is ineligible to run again after serving two terms. The record of his tenure is disastrous; the country is facing an economic and security crisis.

Jihadist insurgencies are raging in northeast Nigeria, merciless thug gangs are operating in the northwest, separatists in the southeast, and deadly clashes between farmers and herdsmen are breaking out in the center.

RES-EMP

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.