Gunmen intercept hearse, abduct bereaved family

A hearse conveying a corpse from Lagos to Enugu for burial has been intercepted by gunmen at the Benin bypass in Edo State, with one of the deceased family member whisked away by the bandits.

Penpushing reports that, the gunmen during the interception fired sporadically before forcing the hearse to a halt, and subsequently abducted the younger brother of the deceased, but the driver of the hearse identified as Orejuwa Salami was left untouch by the gunmen

The shocking incident as narrated by a resident of Ahor community, along the bypass, Osamudiamen Odia, who said he was among those who went to rescue the driver after the kidnappers had left the scene, said the incident happened on Saturday.

Penpushing further reports that, Odia said the driver fell into the ditch after the encounter with the kidnappers, adding that the driver of another vehicle, which was driving behind the hearse, was killed by a stray bullet from the gunmen.

“Upon sighting the ambulance, the armed bandits opened fire on the driver but he managed to escape the bullets of the dare-devil kidnappers. The driver of the vehicle behind him was not lucky as he was hit by stray bullets and died instantly’, he said.

“The sporadic gunshots forced the vehicle driver to an emergency stop and the vehicle fell into a nearby ditch. The younger brother of the deceased who was sitting in front was kidnapped and taken into the bush.The journey was subsequently aborted because the ambulance was destroyed. The dead body was taken to another mortuary along the Benin/Auchi road axis of Benin City.”

Penpushing also reports that, the driver, while narrating  his ordeal described the experience as traumatic and passionately called for adequate security along major highways across the country.

“I carried this dead from Lagos and the destination was Enugu. The body of the dead man had been in the mortuary in Lagos and it was being conveyed to Enugu State for burial. When I saw the kidnappers I thought they were policemen and they started firing on sighting us. I had to bend down and the bullet hit the driver behind me,” he said.

Penpushing reports that, as at the time of filing this report, sources said the kidnappers are demanding N5 million ransom from the family of the kidnapped bereaved man, while on his own part, police spokesperson in the state, Chidi Nwabuzor, said some kidnap suspects were recently arrested along the bypass, adding that security has been beefed up along the route.

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