Kogiflame
The Nigerian Army has confirmed the rescue of 21 passengers abducted along Obajana-Oshokoshoko road in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations of the 12 Brigade Nigerian Army, Lokoja, Lt Hassan Abdullahi, confirmed the development on Saturday while responding to inquiries on the attack.
Suspected bandits had attacked travellers on the Osokoko–Obajana highway, abducting passengers from several vehicles.
Eyewitnesses said a commercial 18-seater bus and other vehicles were involved in the attack.
The assailants reportedly blocked the said road at about 2.30pm, siezed vehicles that ran into their barricade and forcefully abducted the passengers into the bush before security operatives arrived.
However, Lt Abdullahi said the twenty one (21) passengers were rescued after troops of the brigade, in collaboration with vigilantes, hunters and other security operatives, engaged the kidnappers in a fierce exchange of gunfire.
He added that the operations were ongoing to rescue the remaining victims and apprehend the perpetrators.
A brother of one of the kidnap victims, who asked not to be named, said his younger brother was travelling from Owo in Ondo State to Abuja when the vehicle was ambushed a few kilometres from Obajana town.
He added that abductors later called to demand N40 million as ransom.
“I received a call on Friday from my brother’s abductors demanding N40 million for his release. He was coming to Lokoja to inform our mother about my traditional wedding scheduled for next Friday.”
Eyewitnesses said several vehicles were attacked, including Toyota Hiace bus (7BGT-78LG) with passengers from Owo, Ondo State to Abuja; Toyota Siena with registration number YAB 968 AX from Oshogbo to Kaduna; Toyota Carina (JMU 648 AA) from Lokoja to Kabba and Toyota Hiace (GKP 178 XA) from Abuja to Ekiti State, among others.
According to a source, eight of the rescued passengers belonged to two biological families, and two drivers of the ill-fated journey were also freed.
“Two families lost four members each in the incident and all were rescued. Two drivers, a truck driver and a bus driver, were also among those freed,” the source said.
Meanwhile, Kogi State Governor, Usman Ahmed Ododo, has vowed to take the fight to criminal hideouts rather than wait for attacks on highways and communities.
Speaking at an emergency meeting with security agencies and traditional rulers at the Government House in Lokoja on Thursday, the governor said intelligence reports showed that some top bandit leaders had relocated to the state in recent days.
He assured that security agencies had tracked key commanders and that decisive action would be taken.
“The major commandeers of the bandits have relocated to Kogi State for the past three days. We will not wait for them to fight us; we will take the fight to them.
“We are not going to bow to the criminals, we are not going to negotiate with them, we are not going to pay ransom, but we are going to sensitise our people to be security conscious of their activities,” the governor said.
