15 NYSC Members Abducted in Fresh Kogi Highway Attack

(National Youth Service Corps Members Photo Credit: AI Jazeera)

Fifteen National Youth Service Corps members have been ab@ducted by gunmen along the Ofu and Itobe-Onicha-Igo axis of Ofu Local Government Area in Kogi State.

The corps members were ab@ducted on Wednesday while travelling from the NYSC Orientation Camp in Bayelsa State to Abuja.

They belonged to the 2026 Batch B Stream II and had completed their orientation activities before starting their journey.

The victims were travelling in two buses when attackers stopped them.

One of the abducted youth was Ayodele David.

A police officer later contacted families to inform them of the incident and confirm it happened in Ofu Local Government Area.

The attackers also hit a Peace Mass Transit bus and another vehicle.

The driver of the Peace Mass Transit bus was injured during the att@ck and was taken to hospital for treatment.

According to witnesses, the ab@ductors spoke Fulfulde, Hausa and English. However, the identities of the attackers could not be independently confirmed.

Video footage from the scene showed the attackers shooting at the vehicles before taking the passengers.

Sixteen people were listed on the manifest of one bus, but one corps member was transferred to another vehicle after the driver said the bus was full.

The driver explained that 15 passengers were taken even though 16 were on the list.

No ransom demand had been made as of the time reports were filed.

The Kogi State Police Command did not provide an official response.

Attempts to reach the command's spokesperson went unanswered.

Calls to Peace Mass Transit's customer service and emergency lines also went unanswered.

This ab@duction is part of a pattern of kidnapping att@cks reported along Kogi's highways and forest areas in recent weeks.

On August 9, security agencies reported the ab@duction of commuters on two roads in Ofu Local Government Area.

The Nigerian Army later reported that 16 victims were rescued after troops from multiple agencies engaged the ab@ductors in a gun battle near Adumu.

One local hunter was k!lled during the operation while a police officer was injured.

Earlier on August 8, the Kogi Police Command intensified operations around the Okene-Ajaokuta area following another ab@duction on the Okene-Auchi Road.

Police tactical units and the Nigerian Army, supported by the Edo State Police Command, were involved in the operation along the Kogi-Edo border.

The repeated att@cks have raised concerns about the safety of travellers on Kogi's highways, especially routes connecting the state to neighbouring areas where criminals can hide in forests.