A 59-seater luxury bus belonging to Ifesinachi Transport Ltd was attacked and set ablaze on Saturday by armed robbers along the ljebu Ode-Ore-Benin City expressway.
The incident reportedly occurred at the Ogun State end of the road.
In a video uploaded on X (formerly Twitter) by social media influencer Chude Nnamdi, some of the affected passengers narrate how they were accosted by the bandits who stole their belongings and set fire to the bus.
Ifesinachi Transport Ltd lost a 59-seater luxury bus to armed robbers at ljebu Ode/ Ore/Benin expressway in the early hours of Yesterday 03/30/2024.
It was gathered that they burnt the entire bus with all the goods of the passengers inside.
Many of the bus passengers were reportedly on their way to the southeast region to celebrate Easter. The passengers said no casualty was recorded but added that they all struggled to escape being burned alive inside the bus.
One of the passengers said, “Ifesinachi Motors, we were travelling in the night to come back to the East for Easter celebration, and criminals attacked us in Ijebu Ode along Ore/Benin expressway.
“They robbed us of everything we had, some they stripped half-naked. They locked us inside the 59-seater luxury bus and set it ablaze. We thank God that we later escaped; nobody died but everything we had was collected.
“We thank God that we didn’t lose anyone but we lost everything we were travelling with and some sustained injuries.”
“This is Ifesinachi Motors that we are travelling with on Friday night and this attack happened around 2 am. They stripped us half-naked. You can use it; the people in the vehicle are completely stranded. There are some people who were macheted and some who broke their legs. We have small children among us,” another one added.
He continued: “We were somehow told that robbers were on the road but the conductor told the driver to move and we entered into the den of the robbers. After robbing us, they burnt the vehicle.”
The spokesperson for Ogun State Police Command, Odutola Omolola, could not be reached on her mobile line. He also did not reply to a text sent to her.