One person has been confirmed dead, while three others were injured after suspected militants attacked a passenger bus at Ikot Mkporikpo end of the Abak-Iwukem Road in the Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Odiko Ogbeche, said on Tuesday that the hoodlums shot at the bus when the driver refused to stop after they flagged down the vehicle.

He said bullets hit four passengers on the bus, adding that the driver refused to stop in the area because he was afraid.

He added that by the time the driver eventually stopped, one of the passengers had died.

The PPRO said the driver of another bus, which appeared at the scene, veered off the road in panic and crashed into a building before the bus caught fire.

Ogbeche said, “The bus belongs to the Akwa Ibom Transport Company and when it was attacked, the bullet hit and injured some of the passengers. One of them was seriously injured but the driver refused to stop at a nearby health centre for treatment.’

 “One of the injured passengers died on the way because the driver was afraid and refused to stop after the shooting incident. He insisted on reaching safety in Aba before stopping for the injured passengers for treatment.”

He expressed worry over the activities of militants on the highway, wondering why they had refused to accept the olive branch extended to them by the state Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, who asked them to lay down their arms for amnesty and re-integration.

“But the police are on the trail of the hoodlums with a view to bringing them to justice,” he added.