Posted by The Guardian on
EIGHT persons were shot dead while seven others including a police escort who was dispossessed of his gun after shooting him, are now lying critically ill in the Benin Central Hospital..
BENIN CITY - EIGHT persons were shot dead while seven others including a police escort who was dispossessed of his gun after shooting him, are now lying critically ill in the Benin Central Hospital, after armed bandits attacked a luxury bus travelling to the East from Lagos along the Auchi-Benin bypass in Benin City, Edo State capital yesterday.
The luxury bus belonging to The Young Shall Grow, with the number Lagos XJ114-LSD, was riddled with bullet when it was brought to the Edo State police command. It was a pitiable sight when Vanguard arrived the premises of the Edo Command, as passengers in the bus most of them with blood stains were in tears as they narrated their ordeals in the hands of the bandits.
Explaining that the robbery lasted for over an hour and that the bus was a night bus enroute to Onitsha, one of the victims, Mr Ofem Joseph narrated to newsmen that 'we were supposed to leave Lagos last night, but when we got to Berger Bus Stop, there was serious hold up that made us spend over six hours at that point, we now left Lagos finally aroud 5:00am early this (yesterday) morning. As we got to Benin and diverted to the by-pass, we started hearing gun shots. They were raining bullets on our bus and in the process over four people died instantly.
'Our driver had to stop when the robbers came in, dragged everybody out and were searching our bags one by one. They shot the police escort when they discovered who he was and collected his gun as they were leaving. The ones that were shot dead have been taken to the mortuary, right now the number is about eight because some people bled to death and even those that were taken to the hospital only God knows if they are going to survive", he lamented.
Briefing newsmen on the attack, the Edo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP Peter Ogboi said 'we were told that five people were killed while seven are in the hospital. The matter has been transfered to the state CID."