Terror on Abia Highway: Passengers Abducted as Sienna Bus Hijacked Near Isuikwuato

Gunmen struck again on Abia State’s troubled Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Isuikwuato highway on Tuesday, abducting the occupants of a white Toyota Sienna bus and marching them into the surrounding forest near the Akara axis. The brazen broad-daylight hijacking sent shockwaves across the Isuikwuato community and reignited fears of resurgent banditry in the region.

Eyewitnesses said the victims were kidnapped around midday, leaving the vehicle abandoned on the road. A video now trending on social media shows the deserted Sienna and a detachment of security operatives combing the area. Local vigilantes and residents say the gunmen struck swiftly and disappeared into the bush before help could arrive.

As of Wednesday evening, no official statement had been issued by the Abia State Police Command. Multiple calls and messages sent to Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Maureen Chinaka, have gone unanswered, further fueling public frustration over what many now describe as a breakdown of highway safety in the region.

Tensions have been running high in the area since the attack last week on Abia State Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Chaka Chukwumerije, whose vehicle was riddled with bullets by unknown gunmen along the Ezinnachi axis in Okigwe. Though he narrowly escaped with his life, the incident raised alarms about rising insecurity on roads leading to Umuahia.

This latest abduction casts fresh doubts on the effectiveness of Governor Alex Otti’s ‘Operation Crush’, the elite security task force launched in 2023 to flush out kidnappers and armed gangs operating in Isuikwuato and Umunneochi LGAs. Residents claim that despite initial successes, the criminal networks have begun regrouping.

Transporters and commuters, especially those using commercial buses, are calling for the reinstallation of mobile police units and military checkpoints along vulnerable highway corridors. They argue that the few security patrols in place are often reactive, arriving long after kidnappers have vanished with their victims.

Family members of the abducted passengers, meanwhile, are urging both the state and federal governments to intervene urgently. With no ransom demand made yet and the identities of the victims still unknown, the fate of those kidnapped hangs in the balance — another tragic chapter in Abia’s ongoing battle with highway banditry.