Troops of the Nigerian Army, in collaboration with the Police operatives, have thwarted a kidnapping attempt and rescued travellers from suspected Fulani herdsmen.
It was reported that the gunmen ambushed two commercial buses near Obayantor community in Edo State.
According to a post by security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, on Thursday, the development occurred on Wednesday night when the gunmen emerged from the bush and opened fire on passing vehicles.
One of the buses, a white vehicle with registration number 166 XB, was conveying four passengers from Kaduna to Sapele.
It was revealed that the attackers forced the bus to a halt, triggering panic among the occupants.
Three passengers managed to flee into the bushes, but one, 53-year-old Abubakar Ahmed, was left behind in the chaos and believed to have been kidnapped.
Security operatives later described the terrain as “a hostile stretch,” heavily vegetated and frequently exploited by criminal elements targeting motorists.
A combined team of Army, police operatives, and vigilantes arrived at the location shortly after receiving a distress call. The troops “acted swiftly to close escape routes and pressure the kidnappers.”
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, a security source who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “Once we received the alert, our men moved to block the flanks while the police and vigilantes pushed forward.
“The bush is very dense, but we maintained pressure. That pressure helped in forcing the kidnappers to abandon their victim.”
The troops recovered two expended cartridges at the scene, confirming the attackers had fired shots.
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The driver of the bus, Ikechukwu Nwanonaku, and two passengers, Hassan Jafaru and Sani Saidi, were found unhurt.
It was the joint ground search that led to the breakthrough.
The report added that, after combing the surrounding bushes, security teams sighted movement and advanced, a passenger known as Abubakar was rescued.
He was reunited with the other passengers and taken to the station. None of them sustained injuries.
However, the incident exposed another troubling discovery. A second bus, with registration number GB 211 LG and bearing the “Ovia South LGA” inscription, was found parked off the road. Its doors were locked except the driver’s side, and there was no trace of passengers or the driver.
Items recovered from the driver’s seat included a power bank, a Samsung Android phone, and ₦9,500 cash in the vehicle’s pigeonhole.
Security personnel are still working to determine what happened to the occupants.
The military noted that the area remains a challenging security zone but insist they will sustain pressure on criminal groups exploiting the route.