Armed men suspected to be bandits have reportedly kidnapped several travellers along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, said the attackers intercepted two commercial buses travelling from Onitsha to Owerri around the Umunoha axis of the expressway on Thursday morning.

According to the source, several passengers were abducted, although the exact number of victims remained unknown as of the time of filing this report.

The source said the attackers allegedly took advantage of slow-moving traffic caused by cattle crossing the expressway.

“The buses were coming from the Onitsha side of the road; it seems they were returning from Lagos.

“Many people were kidnapped. They usually launch attacks when their cattle are crossing the road because they know vehicles will slow down,” the source said.

The incident comes amid recent reports of kidnapping along the highway, with some victims reportedly released after the payment of ransom.

The source also alleged that a man and his daughter were abducted along the road about three weeks ago and were released after a ransom of N29 million was reportedly paid.

However, the claim could not be independently verified.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, had yet to respond to enquiries about the latest incident as of the time of filing this report.