Dozens still unaccounted for after Edo train abduction

Over thirty passengers and NRC employees were reportedly abducted late Saturday night from the Igueben railroad sub-station in Edo State.

The liaison officer for the local government area, Best Oseh, told Vanguard yesterday that security and paramilitary organizations are searching the region’s forests for clues.

He warned that the team’s efforts may be jeopardized if too much information were made public. “As I speak, individuals are in the field all over the country, vigilantes, security agencies, and other people,” he added.

“Some of the kidnapped are from Igueben, while others are travelers from other places; as for the number, for now we are looking at over 30 but we can only give a detailed number after preliminary investigations are complete.”

Comrade Odia Benson, a local resident, elaborated on the situation by saying the kidnappers freed two children and the wife apparently departed.

He claimed that some NRC employees, including as the station manager and ticket clerk, were among those kidnapped.

He said, “The train generally arrives around 5 pm, so as at about 20 minutes to 5, bandits just came through the bush portion and seized the location; they took away the station manager, the booking clerk, and about 29 other passengers, male and female.”

While we speak, many paramilitary representatives, including the DPO Igueben and his men, the Esan Akatakpa Security network, and the hunters association, have been in the forest since last night conducting bush combing. The Deputy Governor left the area about an hour ago. We’re crossing our fingers that they’ll be found and saved today.

They are completely at God’s will, as the railroad station is located deep in the woods with no protection from the police or any other authority. You can find the station in the middle of Igeueben, only 1.2 kilometers from Igueben General Hospital.

“I guess about just three of the victims are from Igueben; one of them is from Ward 8, we had another who is married to an Igueben man but residing in Warri, while others are from Ekpoma, from Uromi, from Ubiaja, others are not even from Edo State.”

In this case, it appears that the kidnappers believed that releasing two youngsters would slow down their progress and decided to do so. The children were left at a deserted gas station, and the mother’s family was afterwards contacted and told they needed to come get the kids. A mother and her infant child managed to get away. Before Buhari’s arrival in Yobe, the woman escaped and was later recovered in Opoji, which is in the Esan Central local government area.