From John Adams Minna
Five of the 10 passengers of the Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA) abducted two weeks ago while travelling to Katsina State, have regained their freedom after payment of an undisclosed amount of money as ransom.
About five other passengers are still held by their abductors, who are demanding N5 million each for their release. A staff of the transport authority who spoke to our correspondent in confidence, disclosed that 18 passengers boarded the vehicle on that faithful day to Katsina State but ran into a road block mounted by bandits in a village about 20 kilometres to Katsina.
According to him, the driver of the 18-seater bus who was said to be plying the road for the first time and seven other passengers escaped into the bush, while the abductors took the remaining 10.
He said five of the victims have been freed after their families met the demands of the gunmen, adding that “we have not heard anything about the remaining five people, and it’s about two weeks now since the incident occurred”.
However, a senior staff of the transport authority who did not want his name in print told, our correspondent that though the vehicle does not belong to the authority, it however loaded from their park on that day due to the volume of passengers.
It could be recalled that in 2021, no fewer than 53 passengers, comprising women and children on board of the State Transport Authority were abducted along Minna-Tegina road while returning to Minna from Rijau Local Government Area of the state.
They however regained freedom after one month in captivity following the payment of an undisclosed amount of money as ransom.