Police confirm abduction of NYSC members by gunmen in Kogi

Several members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were abducted on Wednesday, August 26, along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, while travelling from the NYSC orientation camp in Bayelsa State.

The corps members were reportedly on their way to Abuja after completing the three-week orientation programme in Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA of Bayelsa when armed assailants attacked the vehicles. In a statement released on Friday, August 28,  Saliu Afusat, spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, said security operatives launched an immediate rescue operation after receiving a distress call.

According to the police, armed men emerged from the bush around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, at about 4:40pm. They reportedly blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions and abducted some of the passengers, while others escaped into the surrounding bush.

Police officers and other security personnel later recovered two abandoned vehicles at the scene, a white Peace Mass Transit Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus. A coordinated bush-combing and rescue operation was subsequently launched, resulting in the rescue of 11 abducted victims, including the drivers of the two buses.

The police said preliminary debriefing indicated that most of those rescued were NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja. The victims were later debriefed and allowed to continue their journey after necessary procedures were completed. However, the exact number of corps members initially abducted remained unclear.

The Kogi police command said it was deploying “every available operational and intelligence resource” to locate and rescue any remaining victims. The incident has meanwhile triggered concern among relatives, with several people taking to X to claim that family members were still missing following the attack.

In a viral video, a woman identified as Chidimma appealed to the government, the NYSC and members of the public to help secure the release of her sister. She said her sister had completed her NYSC orientation programme in Bayelsa and had been posted to Niger State, planning to spend the night in Abuja before travelling to her place of primary assignment.

Chidimma claimed that kidnappers attacked the vehicle carrying her sister and other corps members, killing the driver and taking the passengers into the bush. She said the family had yet to receive information about her sister’s whereabouts.

Another man, identified as Chisom Ede, also claimed that his sister was among those abducted. He said she and other corps members travelling from Bayelsa were attacked along the Kogi route and appealed to the NYSC, federal government and security agencies to intervene.

Another X user, @ddevilsworkshop, similarly claimed that his sister was among the victims. He shared what he described as a list of passengers who had boarded the Peace Mass Transit vehicle and alleged that the kidnappers were demanding ₦20 million in ransom.