Politics
Police rescue 11 as gunmen abduct NYSC members in Kogi
THE Kogi State Police Command has said it rescued 11 people, including the drivers of two buses, out of several members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted on Wednesday after gunmen attacked vehicles along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The incident occurred as the corps members were travelling from the NYSC orientation camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to their respective destinations after completing the three-week orientation exercise.
In a statement on Friday, the command’s spokesperson, Saliu Afusat, said armed men emerged from a bush around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, at about 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions.
Without disclosing the total number of people abducted in the attack, Afusat said the attackers seized some passengers, while others escaped into the surrounding bush.
“At about 1640hrs, armed hoodlums emerged from the bush around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions and abducted some passengers, while others escaped into the surrounding bush,” the police spokesperson said.
According to the officer, the Divisional Police Officer in Ofu led a joint security team to the scene after receiving a distress call, and the security team recovered two abandoned vehicles, a white Peace Mass Transit Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus from the scene.
“A coordinated bush-combing and rescue operation was immediately launched. The operation resulted in the successful rescue of 11 abducted victims, including the drivers of the two buses. Preliminary debriefing indicates that most of the rescued victims are NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja,” she said.
The police spokesperson said the rescued victims were debriefed and, after the necessary procedures, allowed to continue their journey, noting that efforts are in place to rescue the remaining corps members.
“Every available operational and intelligence resource is being deployed to rescue the remaining victims,” she added.
The police statement came a few hours after a series of social media posts circulated showing two buses and a passenger manifest, with captions claiming that NYSC members had been kidnapped while travelling from Bayelsa State. There were also appeals from individuals who said their relatives were among those abducted and had yet to regain their freedom.
In a video circulating on X, a woman identified as Chidimma said her sister was among the corps members returning from the NYSC orientation camp in Bayelsa State.
“My sister went to Bayelsa for NYSC three-week camp, after which she was posted to Niger State. She had planned to sleep over in Abuja and on the next day, Thursday, proceed to Niger State for her PPA,” she said.
According to Chidimma, her sister and other corps members were taken into the bush after the attack, as she appealed to the government, NYSC and security agencies to intervene and secure their release.
Another X user, identified as @ddevilsworkshop, also claimed that his sister was among the victims.
The user shared what he described as a list of passengers who boarded the Peace Mass Transit vehicle and alleged that the abductors were demanding N20 million in ransom.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.