IMO POLICE DEBUNK ALLEGED KIDNAP OF 14 BUS PASSENGERS ON ABA ROAD

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The Imo State Police Command has dismissed widespread reports that a 14-seater commercial bus was attacked and its passengers abducted along the busy Aba road in Owerri on Tuesday.

Residents had alleged that gunmen intercepted a fully loaded bus travelling from Owerri to Aba, Abia State, and whisked away all passengers. Videos purportedly showing the incident also trended online, heightening public anxiety.

However, the spokesperson for the Command, Henry Okoye, said that the claims were false, insisting the circulated video was an old clip being recycled to cause panic.

During a live video call, Okoye displayed police operatives led by the state Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma conducting a show of force alongside Army and vigilante personnel at Umuneke, near Ihitte junction.

“As you can see for yourself, we are here for an on-the-spot assessment. There was no kidnapping on this road yesterday,” he said. “I can confirm that there was a kidnap incident in Owerri yesterday, but none today. People should disregard that trending video.”

He added that as of 6 p.m. on Tuesday, no kidnapping report had been filed and no incident was confirmed along Aba road.

Okoye further expressed surprise over reports of an attack on the advance convoy of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, stating that the Command had yet to receive a formal complaint.

Meanwhile, residents have continued to express fear over what they describe as a “sudden surge” in attacks along Aba road, a major gateway to the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport.

Sources claimed that a 14-seater bus was indeed attacked in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area on Tuesday morning—the same day Governor Otti’s team came under fire. Eyewitnesses who filmed an abandoned bus said gunmen stopped the passengers in a coordinated operation and transferred them into another vehicle.

One resident, speaking anonymously, said other motorists kept a safe distance while the attack unfolded.

The alleged attacks have fuelled growing anxiety among travellers. An Owerri-based activist, Nnamdi Paulcy Iwuala, wrote on Facebook that he cancelled his trip to Aba after receiving multiple credible reports of kidnappings along the route.

Another resident urged security agencies to dismantle the gangs operating in the area, noting that the long stretches of bush along Ngor Okpala have made travellers vulnerable to ambushes.

Security operatives have since intensified patrols along the corridor to restore public confidence.