ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- A hearse conveying a dead body to Isuikwuato Community in Abia State for burial, was on Wednesday intercepted by hoodlums.
The bandits during the attack kidnapped the driver and others.
It was learnt that the hoodlums abandoned the dead body on the highway and took their victims to their hideout inside the bush.
According to a source close to the family of the deceased, the incident took place around the Umunneochi/Ihube Okigwe axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.
The source said the victims were coming from Abraka in Delta State, when on getting to the scene of the incident, they were stopped by the bandits.
“The armed bandits waylaid the vehicle conveying the dead body and dragged out the occupants, abandoning the coffin in the vehicle on the road”, the source said.
He added that the deceased was his uncle’s wife, saying that the abductors whisked the victims.
“The woman’s daughter later escaped from the captors by providence, while the driver and the other man are still being held captive.”
He said the devastated family had recovered the abandoned dead body and deposited it at the mortuary.
“We are in disarray. People bringing the body of my uncle’s wife today (Wednesday) were kidnapped at the notorious Umunneochi-Ihube Okigwe axis.
“They took the victims away into the bush. We have gone to pick up the body and we have reported it to the police. We want the government to come to our rescue.”
The Abia State Police Command was yet to issue any statement on the incident.