Kogi govt confirms abduction of travellers by suspected terrorists

Suspected kidnappers have kidnapped passengers of an 18-seater bus in Ochadamu along Anyigba-Itobe road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

While confirming the incident on Thursday, the State Security Adviser to Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello, Navy Commander Jerry Omodara (rtd), said the state government was on top of it.

It was gathered that the incident happened around 4 pm on Monday at a kidnapping hotspot on the highway.

The bus was said to be heading for Abuja from the eastern part of the country.

An eyewitness account disclosed that the hoodlums numbering about ten stopped the bus at gunpoint and kidnapped the passengers and led them into the bush.

The locals added further that kidnapping activities in the Ochadamu flashpoint had reduced drastically, but picked up recently after the army checkpoint in the area was dismantled following a fatal accident on the highway.

The security operatives, including the vigilantes, in the areas, were said to be making frantic efforts to rescue the victims since the incident happened.

Omodara confirmed the incident on Thursday, saying the state government had put enough measures in place to stem the tide of criminal activities in the area.

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He said since the hoodlums were coming back to operate on the road again, the government would rejig its measures, adding that the hoodlums would be neutralised shortly.

“We have fought them; we will fight them, and we will continue to fight them until they are neutralised in that axis of the state. Security agents have been alerted and they will do the needful,” he said.

Efforts to get comments from the state command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP William Aya, did not yield results as he neither picked up calls nor responded to text messages sent to him.