The police said they are "monitoring" the situation.

Suspected kidnappers have abducted a driver and 18 passengers at Azumini, a town in Abia state, South-east Nigeria.

The incident occurred last Wednesday, Vanguard newspaper reported.

Azumini, a boundary town between Abia and Akwa Ibom State, is located some 15 miles south of the commercial city of Aba.

In recent years, because of the high security risk associated with the Ogoni section of the East-West Road, many commercial vehicles plying Uyo - Port Harcourt had abandoned it in preference to the Azumini route.

The police spokesperson in the state, Timfon John, who confirmed the abduction to the newspaper said the police were "monitoring" the situation.

Vanguard reported that the incident involved an Akwa Ibom Transport Company (AKTC) bus.

According to the newspaper, the passengers were traveling inside the AKTC bus from Uyo to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, en route to Abia State, when their bus was intercepted at Azumini.

Vanguard newspaper quoted a witness as saying that the kidnappers fired shots into the air, forcing the driver to bring the bus to a halt before other gang members came out from the bush and abducted the passengers.

"The driver was first to come down. Other passengers were ordered to follow immediately. The kidnappers moved all of them into the bush," the newspaper quoted the witness.

The incident occurred almost a year after gunmen abducted eight corps members, who were traveling inside an AKTC bus from Uyo to Sokoto State en route Zamfara State, to take part in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps when their vehicle was intercepted along a highway in Zamfara.

PREMIUM TIMES in March reported that two of the eight corps members were still in captivity nine months after they were abducted.

Their continuous stay in captivity had triggered outrage from Nigerians and civil society groups who called on the federal government to take action to secure their release.