Nigeria: Joint Security Team rescues 11 abducted by gunmen in Kogi

 

A total of eleven individuals, which includes an unspecified number of corps members, have been rescued following an attack by gunmen on vehicles along the Aloma–Egane Expressway in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The incident took place at approximately 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, near Ogene Zaria, close to the Ogene Zaria–Onicha-Igo Junction. As reported by the Kogi State Police Command, the assailants emerged from the nearby bush and obstructed two buses traveling in opposite directions, abducting several passengers while others managed to flee into the surrounding vegetation.

The police indicated that the Divisional Police Officer in Ofu promptly led a joint security team to the location after receiving a distress call, where they recovered two abandoned vehicles: a white Peace Mass Transit Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus. A coordinated operation involving bush combing and rescue efforts was swiftly initiated, resulting in the successful rescue of eleven abducted individuals, including the drivers of the two buses.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer in Kogi State, ASP Saliu Afusat, initial debriefing revealed that the majority of the rescued individuals were members of the National Youth Service Corps who were traveling from Bayelsa State to Abuja.

In a related development, troops from the Nigerian military have eliminated over twenty-one Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists during a collaborative offensive in the Kopre Mountain area of Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State. 

This operation, which took place in the early hours of August 27, 2026, involved the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) Tactical Team alongside newly inducted troops from the 226 Battalion, who were recently deployed to Sector 4 in Adamawa State.