Three bandits were reportedly gunned down as soldiers foiled the abduction of passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna highway near Maraban Jibo in Kaduna State.

A resident of nearby Katari village, Saleh Ibrahim, said the incident happened around 6pm on Sunday, when bandits attempted to abduct the passengers of an 18-seater bus.

He said, "The bus which was conveying passengers going to Abuja had a flat tyre. And while the driver was changing the tyre, bandits emerged from the bush and wanted to abduct the passenger, but soldiers who were on patrol arrived at the scene and shot three of the bandits while the others escaped."

A vigilante in the area, simply identified as Ishaya, confirmed the incident.

A community leader in the area, who also confirmed the incident to our reporter through telephone on Monday, said, "If not for the quick response of the troops, those passengers would have been abducted because the place where the bus had a flat tyre is a black spot."

The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Hassan Mansur, was yet to issue a statement on the incident.