Gunmen on Thursday morning hijacked a school bus in Oba-Ile Estate, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, abducting a female staff of Chimola School, who was on duty to convey pupils to the school.
The incident occurred around 6:45 am while the driver and the attendant were moving round to pick the pupils of Chimola School, situated inside the estate to their school.
A source in the school said the gunmen, numbering about eight, swooped on the victims on motorcycles, forcing the bus and driver to stop.
He said the abductors, who were armed with guns, cutlass and some other weapons, dragged down the driver from the vehicle and threatened to kill him.
According to him, the bus with vehicle registration number: Lagos LSD 853 FJ, with “Chimola Schools” boldly inscribed on it, was driven away by one of the hijackers while others moved away from the scene on motorcycles.
“The driver and the female attendant were about to pick the first student when the incident happened,” the source said. “The gunmen rounded the vehicle and came down with dangerous weapons.
“The driver was dragged down from the bus while one of them take the driver’s seat and drove off with the attendant in the bus. The whereabouts of the attendant are still unknown but we have reported the incident at the Oba Ile Police station.
“This is the first time we are experiencing this kind of situation here. It is quite unfortunate, “the source said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Tee-Leo Ikoro, while contacted, said he has not been briefed as at press time, but promised to confirm from the Divisional Police Officer in the area.
Meanwhile, the gunmen, who hijacked the school bus have released the abducted female staff. It was gathered the gunmen missed their target as no pupil was inside the bus when they struck.
The gunmen, who rode on motorcycles, had crossed the bus belonging to Chimola School around 6:45am when the driver was on a routine of picking pupils. They had driven the bus to a bush after Ilara Mokin before they asked the abducted bus attendant to start running.
Narrating her ordeal, the staff who gave her name as Omolayo Ojo, said she saw the abductors blocked them and brought out a gun and a battle axe.
She said they dragged the driver out but took her along as they drove away.
Ojo stated when they got to the bush, “they brought me down, asked about my name and asked me to cooperate.
“They later told me to run without looking back. I met an old woman who showed me the way to a road. An Okada rider gave me N500 and showed me the way to town from where I took a transport to Akure”.