The surviving truck driver, a traveler of 16 Kano State extractors who survived in a vigilant group in Uromi, Edo, tells the painful experience and refutes the tribe-related claims that the incident is related to the tribe.
The incident happened in the early hours of Friday when travelers (think hunters) travelled to Kano from Port Harcourt, Rivers, to celebrate Eid festivals.
The truck driver’s name was not revealed in a viral video circulating online, saying he was transporting Dangote Group’s cargo to Obajana when he met a hunter in Elele and seeking a ride to the northern part of the country.
“I initially refused to ride them because it violated my company’s policy. But after driving about two kilometers I felt introverted by giving up them. After all, they were northerners from Kano State University, so I went back and picked them up,” the driver said.
According to him, the journey was peaceful until they arrived in Uromi, where they were stopped by a vigil. The leader of the alert man allegedly asked the driver about his cargo and the identity of the passenger. Despite introducing the cargo Waybill, the alert commander reportedly expressed suspicion of the hunters, especially because of their weapons and dogs on the truck.
“He said he (watches the leaders) distrust them and asked them to come down. Once the crowd saw their guns and dogs, they attacked us.” “The commander told the crowd that we were kidnappers and Boko Haram and they started beating us ruthlessly.”
The driver, along with two other identified as Haruna, was reportedly handcuffed by a wary commander and taken to a nearby police station. The alert person told police that they had captured the suspected kidnapper, resulting in their immediate detention.
“By the time he returned to the scene, the mob had killed 16 people,” the driver revealed, his voice full of pain.
However, he explicitly dismissed the suggestion that the incident was a conflict of clans.
He stressed: “This is not a conflict between the tribes. The vigilant is totally responsible for this attack. They are the ones who led to the cold-blooded murder of our people.”
The tragic incident has aroused widespread condemnation across the country, calling for a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
