The hoodlums were said to have shot indiscriminately to ward off any threat and escaped unchallenged.
The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed that gunmen killed a commercial bus driver identified as Salvation Taylor Harry, and kidnapped eight passengers along the Emohua-Kalabari Road in the state.
The Spokesman of the Rivers State Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the incident on Monday, while briefing journalists in Port-Harcourt, said the attack occurred on Saturday night.
PUNCH reports that the driver, who ferried his passengers from the Mile One park in the Diobu area of Port Harcourt, was travelling to Buguma before he was ambushed on one of the bad spots.
The gunmen after killing the driver, took all passengers into a forest. The hoodlums were said to have shot indiscriminately to ward off any threat and escaped unchallenged.
One of the victims was later, freed after paying N150,000, ransom while others were still in captivity.
But briefing journalists, Iringe-Koko assured that adequate security had been mobilised to the road to forestall future occurrence.
The command's spokesperson said that the police had commenced investigation into the matter.
Meanwhile, the Command also rescued 15 children from an illegal orphanage home in the state.
According to the paper, the 15 children were rescued by operatives of the Commissioner of Police Monitoring Unit when they busted an illegal orphanage home in Aluu community in Ikwerre local government area.
The operatives also arrested a middle-aged woman, the alleged operator of the illegal orphanage home.