LAFIA – Two persons were shot and 30 others sustained injuries as armed robbers attacked two buses in Lafia Local Government on Monday December 16th 2013.
The buses were conveying traders from the eastern part of Nigeria to purchase at the weekly market in Assakio community, according to reports by Nigerian Tribune.
According to reports, the incident occurred between the hours of 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Witnesses told the Nigerian Tribune that the two traders who were shot were quickly rushed to Dahaltu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), while injured ones were taken to undisclosed hospitals for treatment.
An eye witnesses told Nigerian Tribune that the traders who were traveling in hummer buses with registration numbers DN 330 PHC and UMA 265 XA, where attacked by a gang of six robbers who arrived the petrol station at about 3:12 a.m.
“These traders who usually come from the eastern part of this country arrive here every Sunday to have a stopover before proceeding to Assakio market early morning on Monday to purchase whatever goods they wanted to purchase. The robbers came in through the back of the filling station and ordered the passengers to come out before they robbed them”, he added.
A resident close to the petrol station said that the armed men targeted only the passengers on the bus, that they watched as passers by ran for safety.
The robbers, who were reported to have arrived in an ash coloured golf car, shot the two traders because they resisted the robbery, and continued to fire shots into the air for up to an hour.
The police reportedly arrived the scene after the operation.
