PREMIUM TIMES reports the attack on Saturday at a railway station in Edo State.
The attackers, described by police as ‘herdsmen’, were shot sporadically before kidnapping an unconfirmed number of passengers.
Several passengers were also injured, police said in a statement Sunday.
Nigerian Railway Company (NRC) announced the closure of the station in a brief message on Sunday.
“Public Announcement: This is to inform the general public and especially our esteemed passengers, that Ekehen Station is temporarily closed due to security concerns, until further notice,” it read.
Also, the transport ministry, which oversees the NRC, condemned the attack.
“The Federal Government condemns the senseless and barbaric abduction of a passenger at the Tom Ikimi Igueben Railway Station in Edo State,” the ministry’s Director of Press & Public Relations, Henshaw Ogubike, wrote in a statement on Sunday.
“The public is hereby assured that the security agencies are making efforts to rescue the abducted passengers of the train. The Nigerian Police is on the trail of the criminals and has mobilized with a view to protecting the lives and property of the remaining passengers. The government is saddened by this unfortunate development and assures response quick about a bad situation.
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He said more details about the incident would be reported later.
The Edo attack comes months after terrorists attacked a Kaduna train in northern Nigeria, killing several passengers and abducting dozens more.
Most of the kidnapped passengers were released after paying ransoms and others after the attackers reached an agreement with government negotiators.
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