Gunmen are roaming Nigeria, North and South, abducting indiscriminately, even suckling children from their mothers’ breasts.
The Edo Police Command has confirmed that gunmen, on Tuesday, intercepted a school bus belonging to Glory Land Group of Schools in Edo State and abducted two of its pupils.
The News Agency of Nigeria says the vehicle conveying the victims in the company of other pupils was intercepted at gunpoint, and the abductors dragged the two pupils from the vehicle into a bush.
Nigeria has been experiencing large scale kidnapping, especially in schools, across all levels – primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. The criminals abduct and demand for ransom and could keep their victims for as long as six months. Jihadists could keep their victims for years.
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The gunmen were said to have waylaid the school bus of the school. They were said to be returning to Auchi, Etsako West local government area of Edo, after school when they were taken by their abductors.
The schoolchildren were reportedly abducted along the Igarra-Auchi Road, near Ikpeshi, Akoko Edo local government area.
The spokesman for the police command in the state, Kontongs Bello, confirmed the abduction and said policemen, soldiers and vigilantes were combing bushes to rescue the pupils.
He was quoted as saying: “Two students were kidnapped, but efforts are on to rescue them unhurt. Men of the Nigeria Police, soldiers and vigilantes, are already combing bushes to rescue the students.”
The attack comes a few hours after gunmen invaded the staff quarters of the University of Abuja abducting six people
It was gathered that the gunmen invaded the senior staff quarters at Giri in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at 1 am on Tuesday and operated for about an hour. Four staff of the university were abducted along with two children.