Gunmen Kidnap 15 NYSC Members, 11 Rescued In Kogi
Fifteen National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have reportedly been abducted by gunmen in the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis of Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Security operatives say they have since rescued 11 of the NYSC victims.
The Kogi State Police Command says it has rescued 11 of them and an unspecified number of other passengers.
The command’s spokesperson, Saliu Afusat, disclosed this in a statement, saying the victims were rescued during a search operation by security officers following Wednesday’s attack.
The incident occurred on 26 August at about 4:40 p.m. near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, when armed men emerged from the bush and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions.
According to the police, some passengers escaped into the surrounding bush while others were abducted.
A relative of one of the victims said the corps members were abducted on Wednesday while travelling from the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to Abuja.
The victims were members of the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream II and had reportedly concluded their orientation camp activities before beginning their journey.
According to the relative, identified as a family member of one of the abducted corps members, the youths were travelling in two buses when they were attacked.
He told FIJ that his brother, Ayodele David, was among the abducted corps members.
A police officer, Adeji Joshua, who contacted some of the families, reportedly said the incident occurred along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis.
The relative said the victims included passengers travelling in a Peace Mass Transit bus and another bus marked 564.
“According to a police officer who contacted us later that night, the incident occurred around Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State, along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis,” he told FIJ.
The source said the driver of the Peace Mass Transit bus was left behind with injuries.
He said the abductors reportedly spoke Fulfulde, Hausa and English, although the victims’ relatives could not independently establish their identities.
According to him, 16 people were listed on one of the manifests, but one corps member was transferred to another vehicle after the driver said the bus was full.
“From the explanation of the driver, who was badly injured, 15 passengers were kidnapped even though 16 people were listed on the manifest,” he told FIJ.
The driver was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment, the source said.
A video from the scene reportedly showed the attackers shooting at the vehicles before abducting the passengers.
