21 Passengers Rescued After Armed Bandit Ambush on Kogi Highways

A coordinated rescue effort on Thursday freed 21 passengers after armed bandits opened fire on several vehicles along major highways in Kogi State. The attackers, estimated at about 100, ambushed multiple motorists around 2:00 p.m., prompting an immediate response from security forces. Two members of the rescue team were killed during the operation.

The bandits targeted a Toyota Siena traveling from Oshogbo to Kaduna, two Toyota Hiace buses headed to Abuja and Ekiti, a Toyota Carina on the Lokoja–Kabba route, a Dangote truck carrying 900 bags of cement, and a J5 bus transporting pepper from Kano to Lagos.

Personnel from the Nigerian Army’s 12 Brigade, Quick Response Units, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, vigilantes, local hunters, and other operatives engaged the attackers in what witnesses described as an intense exchange of gunfire. Security analyst Zagazola Makama reported that the joint team successfully secured the release of men, women, and infants among the rescued passengers.

Those freed include Moses Oladimeji, Adele Jacob, Obed Onche, Babayemi Ajayi, Funmilayo Ajayi, Samuel Olawoyin, Samuel Job, Jemima Joseph, Nanko Joseph, Enenche Paulina, Bright Enenche, Rachael Enenche, nine-day-old Deborah Enenche, Bukola Clement, Toyin Clement, Glory Clement, Faith Clement, Peter Olawale, as well as the drivers of both the Dangote truck and the J5 bus.

The operation, however, claimed the lives of one soldier attached to the Oshokoshoko sector and a vigilante from Odoape. Their names have not yet been made public.

Security teams continue search-and-rescue operations to locate any remaining victims and to track the fleeing gunmen believed to have retreated into nearby forest areas.