The Benin Sapele Expressway, one of Southern Nigeria’s most busy travel corridors, turned into a theatre of violence and emergency rescue on Wednesday night after suspected herdsmen launched a deadly ambush on commercial vehicles.
The attack occurred close to the Obayantor 2 Community, where gunmen stormed out of nearby bushes at about 10:45 p.m., intercepting and shooting at two commercial buses moving along the highway.
One of the targets was a white commercial bus conveying four passengers on a long-haul trip from Kaduna to Sapele, with registration tag 166 XB.
The attackers forced the vehicle to a brutal stop, igniting mass panic.
While three travellers escaped into the dark, one passenger, Abubakar Ahmed, 53, was reportedly left stranded amid the chaos.
Security sources told Zagazola Makama that he was believed to have been abducted by the assailants before combined security intervention disrupted the plan.
The driver, Ikechukwu Nwanonaku, alongside two passengers, Hassan Jafaru and Sani Saidi, were confirmed traumatised but uninjured by authorities following the incident.
A mixed response team comprising the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, and local vigilante groups, moved to the scene minutes after receiving a distress alert.
One of the operatives, who spoke anonymously, said the difficult terrain initially complicated the effort.
He explained: “Once we received the alert, our men moved to block the flanks while the police and vigilantes pushed forward. The bush is very dense, but we maintained pressure. That pressure helped in forcing the kidnappers to abandon their victim.”
Security personnel recovered two expended cartridges from the scene, confirming that live rounds had been fired during the ambush.
Acting on coordinated ground push, troops reportedly tracked movement inside the heavily forested area before launching a hot pursuit that forced the attackers deeper into the woods, eventually recovering and rescuing Abubakar.
He was later reunited safely with fellow victims and formally debriefed the Police station.
The same night also revealed another grim twist. A black commercial bus, bearing registration GB 211 LG with Ovia South LGA inscription, was recovered parked off the main highway, locked and abandoned.
Items retrieved from its driver seat included: one power bank, one Android phone manufactured by Samsung, and ₦9,500 cash.
There was no trace of passengers or the driver, raising fears of mass abduction or worse. Security personnel are still working to determine what happened to the occupants.
Sources say the area remains a challenging security zone but insist they will sustain pressure on criminal groups exploiting the route.
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