Unknown Gunmen Abduct Nine Persons En Route to Church Program in Lokoja

In a harrowing incident on Saturday evening, unknown gunmen abduct nine individuals traveling to Lokoja for a church program at the Oshokoshoko area on the Kabba/Obajana/Lokoja road. The victims, comprising two students, two women, and four men, were reportedly abducted between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The travelers, who set out from the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Kabba, fell prey to the kidnappers during their journey to the state capital. Among the abducted is Elupo Eliazer’s wife, who recounted that the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N30 million but later reduced it to N2.6 million after negotiations.

Eliazer, a person with a disability, lamented, “My wife and I were traveling to attend our church’s convention scheduled for Lokoja, but I decided to follow a different vehicle as the Toyota vehicle could not contain all of us, else I would have been in the car with her.”

Despite the distressing situation, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), William Aya, has pledged to investigate the incident. However, as of the time of filing this report, there has been no update on the development.