Kidnapping of 32 People by Gunmen at a Train Station in Southern Nigeria.
On Sunday, gunmen carrying AK-47 rifles reportedly abducted more than 30 individuals from a train station in Nigeria’s southern Edo state, according to a statement from the governor’s office. This incident is the most recent example of the growing insecurity in the country, which has spread to almost every corner of Africa’s most populous country, posing a challenge to the government ahead of the February presidential election.
The police revealed in a statement that the armed herdsmen attacked Tom Ikimi station at 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) while passengers waited for a train to Warri, an oil hub in nearby Delta state. The station is located about 111 km northeast of the state capital Benin City and close to the border with Anambra state. During the attack, some people at the station were shot.
Edo state’s information commissioner, Chris Osa Nehikhare, stated that the kidnappers had taken 32 individuals, although one had already managed to escape. He went on to say that security personnel, including the military and the police, as well as vigilante network and hunters, were conducting search and rescue operations in a reasonable radius to save the kidnap victims.
“We are confident that the other victims will be rescued in the coming hours,” he added.