32 People From Nigeria Train Station Kidnapped By Gunmen

More than 30 persons have been kidnapped by gunmen using AK-47 rifles from a train station in southern Nigeria's Edo state, according to the governor's office.

In a statement, the police claimed that armed herdsmen assaulted Tom Ikimi station as people waited for a train to Warri, a nearby oil town in Delta state. The station is near to the state border with Anambra and is located around 111 kilometres northeast of Benin City, the state capital.

The assault is the most recent illustration of the rising insecurity that has affected almost every area of Africa's most populous nation, providing a problem for the government ahead of a presidential election in February.

Chris Osa Nehikhare, the information commissioner for the state of Edo, claimed that 32 persons had been abducted, but one had already fled.

“In order to save the victims of the kidnapping, security personnel—including members of the military, police, vigilante network, and hunters—are currently stepping up search and rescue operations within a fair radius. The other casualties will likely be saved in the ensuing hours, we are convinced,” said the commissioner.

A rail service that connects the Nigerian capital Abuja with northern Kaduna state was reopened by the NRC last month, months after gunmen blew up the tracks, abducted scores of passengers, and killed six people.

Such cases have been rampant in Nigeria especially now that the election period is approaching.