By Charles Igbo
Good Friday usually celebrated by Christians to mark the cruxification of Jesus Christ, ironically, turned bad Friday for about 60 South-East bound Passengers headed home to celebrate Christ’s victory over death – Easter.
The Passengers had boarded the bus from Lagos, and were headed for the South-east to celebrate the Easter Holidays with their families and kinsmen.
In most Communities in the Region, the period is used, just like the Christmas and New Year periods, as a reunion time for families and the launch of different community projects.
When these Passengers boarded the Luxury bus, therefore, it was with joy and hopes for a relaxation at home.
But it turned awry.
The Ifesinachi bus they took was a night bus. Night buses usually leave their bases in the night and arrive their destinations early in the morning.
However, this particular bus never made it beyond Ijebuode, a town in Ogun State, Lagos State’s nearest neighbouring State.
At Ijebuode, they were attacked by callous armed robbers who stripped them to their skins. They were attacked with machetes, rods, clubs, daggers, guns and stripped of everything they had. But worse was to come.
After the terrifying act, the criminals upped the ante. They herded the Passengers back into the bus, and set the bus on fire.
It was a miracle that none of them died. But a number of them sustained injuries including matchet cuts. Some were also stabbed. While the Passengers survived the ordeal even though they came out empty-handed, the Luxury bus was completely burnt down. The Passengers, therefore, lost not just money, but all their luggages as well.
In a video made of the frightening incident by one of the Passengers, a couple of them were heard bemoaning their fate and wondering if they were deliberately delivered to the armed robbers. One of them alleged that the driver was warned that there was danger ahead; he was allegedly of the operation, in front, by armed robbers, but that instead of stopping to tarry awhile, he continued until he drove smack into the hands of the armed robbers.
Among the Passengers who were left stranded in the middle of nowhere were a number of children who embarked on the trip with their parents.
On a number of times, both the Police and the Federal Road Safety Commission had warned of the dangers inherent in inter-state night travels. One of the dangers is the fate that has just befallen this Ifesinachi Luxury bus. Apparently, the warnings usually fall on deaf ears of Passengers and transportation companies.
Said a Road Safety Officer of the ill-fated Ifesinachi bus: “It is surprising that with the activities of kidnappers and bandits, some people still choose to travel in the night- even with their children.”
