Gunmen have abducted a former Accountant General of Cross River State, Rose Bassey, and three others in the Uyanga axis of Calabar-Ogoja highway.

The gunmen who blocked the highway also shot and injured a popular evangelist in the state, Edim-Edim Omin.

The evangelist, who managed to escape with bullet wounds, was said to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

The incident occurred barely 24 hours after the Cross River State Police Command said it had deployed tactical teams to safeguard motorists plying the highway.

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The command’s spokesperson, SP Irene Ugbo, said the former Accountant General and other victims were abducted on Tuesday and pledged that the command would track the gunmen and rescue the victims.

“It is a sad reality for us and the Commissioner of Police is heading to that axis to assess the situation of things himself,” she added.

Ugbo assured that the police would restore normalcy to the highway.

It would be recalled that no fewer than 20 persons were kidnapped along the Uyanga-Ikomita axis of the Calabar-Ogoja highway in the last two months.

Among those abducted were two medical doctors who were later released after an industrial action by the state chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).

The Star