Gunmen have kidnapped the Bayelsa State Correspondent of the Guardian Newspaper Limited Mr. Osahon Olusegun and others along Patani axis of the East West road in Delta State.
Mr. Osahon Olusegun was among passengers of a Delta bound Sunny Eru commercial bus when the dare devil gunmen swooped on them on Sunday along the road.
Unfortunately, the driver of the bus was shot dead during the attack on the unsuspecting passengers.
The incident happened in the evening on Sunday, March 27, 2022 while the Edo born journalist was heading to Delta State from Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
A source who pleaded anonymity said Osahon was on his way to Ughelli to board a train to Abuja on Monday, March 28, before the unfortunate incident.
The kidnappers were said to have suddenly came out from the bush when the bus got to the Patani axis of the East-West road and started shooting directly at the bus, hitting the driver who died instantly.
Five of the kidnapped passengers (three from Delta and two from Bayelsa) were miraculously released on Monday morning around 8:30am.
The source who lives very close to the reporter at Punch road, Amarata in Yenagoa, disclosed that a female passenger who was among the five that were released came to their neighborhood to inform them about the ugly development.
According to the source Osahon and other passengers were held captive by the abductors.
The source said, “The journalist boarded a Sunny Eru bus on his way to Ughelli to board train bound for Abuja.
The incident happened along Patani axis of the East-West road. The gunmen suddenly came out from the bush and started shooting directly at their bus. The bullet hit the driver and he died instantly.
“The girl recognized Osahon as someone she knew at Punch road and they boarded the same bus. She was in the bus with him when the gunmen suddenly came out of the bush and attacked their bus. The girl was jittery and traumatised because of the experience.”
“She said about five of them (3 from Delta, 2 from Yenagoa) among the passengers in the bus that were miraculously released by the bandits on Monday morning around 8:30am while the rest of the passengers including Osahon were still held captivity.”
Another source close to the family also confirmed that the kidnappers have contacted his (Osahon’s) wife and family members and they are demanding for five million naira before he will be released.
It was learnt that some persons within the neighborhood decided to go to Sunny Eru terminal in Yenagoa to confirm if what the girl said was true, but discovered that the same bus that was attacked by the hoodlums has been towed back to the terminal with bullet holes all over its body.
