Make Nigeria’s Highways Safe for Travellers, Transporters Urge FG

Bennett  Oghifo

The National President of the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), Mr. Nonso Ubajaka, has bemoaned the rising cases of robbery and kidnapping targeted at members’ vehicles on various routes across the country lately.

Ubajaka, was reacting to an incident on Good Friday night when a vehicle, an Abakaliki-bound 59-seater luxury bus that belonged to an ALBON member, Ifesinachi Transport Nig. Ltd., was robbed at Ijebu Ode in Ogun State, and set ablaze with the passengers on board.

The luxury bus took off from Maza Maza in Lagos, on Friday, March 29, and was on the way to the Ebonyi State capital when the hoodlums struck, robbed the passengers and locked the vehicle from outside before setting it ablaze.

“But, robbing and burning a luxury bus with 59 passengers on board is unprecedented. This is no longer robbery. It is terrorism,” Ubajaka said on Sunday.

However, all the passengers were reported to have escaped after they smashed the windows and climbed out of the bus before it was completely consumed by the raging fire.

The management of Ifesinachi Transport Nig. Ltd also appealed to the federal government to secure the nation’s highways and make them safer for the travelling public.

Commenting on the incident, the Managing Director/CEO of Ifesinachi, Prince Emeka Mamah, said: “This new dimension to armed robbery which is now accompanied by terrorism, is shocking.”

Calling for proper investigation of the Ijebu Ode incident, both Mamah and Ubajaka appealed to the government and the security agencies to urgently tackle the spate of robberies, abduction and now arson, on the inter-state routes.

A passenger who narrated the incident early Saturday morning in a video recording that showed parts of the long bus still burning, confirmed that no life was lost, though, according to him, some of them sustained injuries.

The passenger, who like many other victims, lost his shirt and other personal belongings to the robbers, narrated, “This is the night bus (showing the charred remains of the 59-seater vehicle) in which we were travelling home for Easter on Friday.

“The armed robbers attacked us at Ijebu Ode, and dealt with us: They stripped us of our dresses and belongings and beat us mercilessly. Some of us have Matchett wounds

“They forced us back into the bus and set it ablaze. But, we are grateful to God that nobody was burnt to death, because we all managed to escape from the burning vehicle alive.

“Though some of us sustained only injuries, we all lost our belongings because the robbers took everything with them, including even the clothes some of us were wearing.

“We have been stranded here since 2 am (Saturday morning): Men, women and children who are innocently travelling to the east to celebrate Easter.”

To the Managing Director of Ifesinachi, that armed robbers now operate like terrorists is a terrifying dimension that should worry all and sundry, including the government, because nobody knows who will be the victim next time.

Prince Mamah lamented, “I can’t imagine the motive behind the burning of the bus after robbing the passengers of all their phones and valuables, plus the limited cash on hand.

“It is a very dangerous trend which needs to be investigated and a stop put to it. If nothing is done now, we may not be lucky next time as no casualty was recorded Friday night, but anything could happen to anyone when next they strike.”

Also speaking further, Ubajaka appealed to the Federal Government and the various security agencies to urgently devise new strategies to tackle the rising insecurity in the country, and particularly make the highways safer for innocent transporters and travellers.

The ALBON National President stated, “Something very drastic has to be done urgently to arrest this ugly dimension to highway robbery. The passengers whose bus was set ablaze at Ijebu Ode were lucky to have escaped. Who knows what next the robbers would do? Maybe they will use dynamite next time.

“And that is why everybody should be worried, including the government and the security agencies. These days when air fares are going out of the reach of average Nigerians, many people are now using the comfortable, long distance buses instead. But, how can people feel safe when the buses are frequently attacked these days.

“That’s why I said the government should do something before it is too late.”