Panic as Gunmen Snatch School Bus in Ondo

By James Sowole

There was a palpable panic yesterday by parents of the pupils of Chimola Nursery and Primary School, Oba Ile, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, when information filtered into town that the school bus had been hijacked by gunmen, who allegedly whisked the vehicle attendant away.

The incident, according to a source, happened around 6:45a.m., when the driver and the attendant were on the routine house-to-house picking of pupils.

The source disclosed that as the driver was waiting in front of a house to pick some pupils, three men riding on a motorcycle came and ordered the driver to surrender the bus key.

It was also gathered that while the driver surrendered the key at gun point, the attendant, who rushed down from the bus, was bundled back into the bus by the gunmen, who drove off with her inside.

The source also stated that an Assistant Commissioner of Police, whose house is located where the incident occurred, called the school administrator and narrated what happened.

It was also the police officer who called the officers of Obaile Police Division, who came to take the driver away to the station.

As the news of the snatching of the bus filtered to Obaile and environs, parents, whose wards attend the school, became apprehensive and besieged the school demanding to know the whereabouts of their children.

While speaking on the incident, the school Administrator, Mrs. Bolatito Akindemowo, said it was at the police station where the driver narrated what happened to
her.