Men armed with AK-47 rifles kidnapped about 30 people at a train station in Edo state in southern Nigeria, the governor’s office said on Sunday.
This attack is a new illustration of the growing insecurity in the most populous country in Africa, a real challenge for the government ahead of the presidential elections in February.
Police said in a statement that armed herdsmen attacked the Tom Ikimi station in mid-afternoon as passengers waited for a train to Warri in neighboring Delta state. The station is located approximately 111 km northeast of the state capital, Benin City, and close to the Anambra State border.
Unsafe
Some people present were attacked during the attack, police said. According to Edo State Information Commissioner Chris Osa Nehikhare, the kidnappers kidnapped 32 people and one escaped.
The NRC reopened a rail service linking the capital Abuja to the northern state of Kaduna last month, months after an attack by gunmen blew up the tracks, kidnapping dozens of passengers and killing six people.
The last person taken hostage in the March attack was released in October.
Source: BFM TV
