By Ayo Kehinde
Armed men suspected to be kidnappers have launched coordinated attacks on commercial travellers along the Ore–Benin Expressway and the Ibadan–Ijebu axis, leaving at least one driver dead and several passengers abducted in separate but alarming incidents that underscore the worsening security situation on major highways in southern Nigeria.
In the first attack, a GUO Transport commercial bus travelling along the Ore–Benin Expressway was ambushed on Sunday by gunmen who opened fire on the vehicle as it moved along the busy Lagos-Benin Expressway linking the South-West and South-South regions.
The assailants reportedly shot and killed the driver on the spot before forcing several passengers out of the bus and whisking them away to an unknown location. Preliminary accounts suggest that the victims may have been taken into surrounding forest areas, a tactic commonly associated with kidnapping operations along the route.
Although security agencies have yet to issue an official, detailed statement, eyewitness accounts and a video circulating on social media indicate that the attackers operated with precision, targeting the vehicle in a coordinated ambush before escaping with the abducted passengers.
The Ore–Benin Expressway has increasingly become notorious for such attacks, with commuters frequently raising concerns over recurring incidents of armed robbery and abduction along the stretch. Security experts attribute the trend to gaps in highway patrol coverage, the dense forest terrain flanking parts of the road, and its strategic role as a major interstate transport route.
In a separate but related incident, gunmen also attacked travellers along the Ibadan–Ijebu road in Oyo State over the weekend, further heightening concerns over road safety in the South-West region.
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Oyo State Police Command, Ayanlade Olayinka, said one person was killed during the attack, but clarified that no abduction occurred.
“There was an attempted kidnapping, but nobody was abducted. One life was unfortunately lost”, Olayinka stated.
However, social media footage circulating on platform X showed a commercial vehicle riddled with bullet holes and stained with blood, suggesting the intensity of the attack and sparking renewed public anxiety over rising insecurity on highways.
The back-to-back incidents add to growing frustration among Nigerians over what many describe as the increasing normalisation of violent attacks on inter-state roads. The situation has continued to disrupt travel, raise transportation risks, and deepen concerns among commuters and transport operators.
Only last week, armed men abducted 17 passengers from a Benue Links commercial bus along the Makurdi–Otukpo road in Benue State, highlighting the expanding footprint of kidnapping networks across multiple regions of the country.
