Fear of bandits: Passengers abandon broken down bus in Zamfara

Scared passengers of a Sokoto State Mass Transit Bus, abandoned the bus when it broke down in a village in Zurmi LGA in Zamfara on Friday.

They ran away fearing they could become sitting targets of bandits or kidnappers.

The news spread quickly to Gusau, the Zamfara capital, with spreaders now claiming that the bus was attacked by kidnappers.

There was even a viral video on the incident.

The Zamfara State Police Command explained that there was no such attack at Kwashabawa village, where the bus broke down.

In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu explained what happened:

“The true position of things was that, today at about 0900hours, a Mass transit Bus conveying passengers from Sokoto to Katsina developed a mechanical fault along the area in question.

“The passengers were apprehensive and jittery, hence they all scattered and took to flight, leaving the bus and their luggage.

“The Police in Zurmi got the information and rushed to the scene.

“They uploaded all the passengers luggage and brought same to Police station for safe keeping to avoid miscreants stealing the passengers valuables.

“All the passengers later emerged and claimed their luggage and left.

“The Police Command calls on the good citizens of the state to shun the viral video and avoid spreading the misleading information that can retard societal cohesion and progress”.