More than 50 persons travelling along the Sokoto-Zamfara road on Saturday have been abducted by gunmen.

According to Premium Times, some of the travellers who escaped said they were returning from a wedding in Tambuwal, Sokoto State, around 6 pm on Saturday when they were attacked.

The wedding guests were traveling in a Toyota Coaster bus belonging to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), a Gusau Local Government Secretariat staff vehicle and two private vehicles.

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Lawal Ja’o, one of those who managed to escape from the abductors, told Premium Times their vehicles were attacked close to Dogon Awo in the Tureta Local Government Area.

He said the gunmen had been shooting before the first bullet hit their vehicle. He also said he couldn’t ascertain the total number of persons abducted but there were more than 45 persons taken from the two buses.

He said when he heard the gunshots, he and some of his friends ran into a bush across the road for safety.

“We kept hearing the voices and screams of our colleagues and friends but there was nothing we could do. After we heard the arrival of security men, we came out of the bush and identified ourselves,” he was quoted to have said.

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Jabiru Shehu, another eyewitness, said over 50 persons were abducted by the gunmen.

“We met four empty vehicles with some belongings including a phone and some travelling bags. We were there when some policemen from Tureta arrived at the scene,” he was quoted to have said.

“From what I heard, they were more than 50 people with the bandits because we were there also when some of the travellers who ran into the bush returned to the main road,” Jabiru said.

FIJ contacted the Sokoto police spokesperson for comments, but calls and text messages were not responded to.