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The Kogi State Police Command has rescued 11 victims abducted by armed men along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of the state.
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The rescued victims included NYSC members travelling from the orientation camp in Bayelsa State to Abuja, as well as the drivers of the two buses attacked by the gunmen.
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The victims were rescued after a joint security team launched a coordinated bush-combing operation following a distress call reporting the attack.
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Police said efforts were ongoing to determine whether more victims remained in captivity and to apprehend the assailants responsible for the attack.
August 28, (THEWILL) — The Kogi State Police Command has rescued 11 persons abducted by armed men along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of the state.
The victims, including several members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), were rescued following a coordinated operation by the police and other security agencies after the attackers ambushed two buses travelling through the area.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at about 4:40pm around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, when armed hoodlums reportedly emerged from the surrounding bush, blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions and abducted some of their occupants.
The corps members were reportedly returning to Abuja after completing their orientation programme at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Confirming the rescue on Friday, the spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, Saliu Afusat, said security operatives immediately mobilised after receiving a distress call about the attack.
According to her, the Divisional Police Officer in Ofu led a joint security team to the scene, where two abandoned vehicles were recovered.
The vehicles were identified as a white Peace Mass Transit Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus.
“Upon receipt of the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer, Ofu, led a joint security team to the scene, where two abandoned vehicles — a Peace Mass Transit white Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus — were recovered,” Afusat said.
She explained that security personnel subsequently embarked on a coordinated bush-combing and rescue operation, which resulted in the recovery of 11 abducted victims.
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The police spokesperson said preliminary debriefing of those rescued indicated that most of them were NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja.
The drivers of the two buses involved in the incident were also among those rescued.
Afusat said the rescued victims underwent necessary procedures and were subsequently allowed to continue their journey.
The command, however, did not disclose the total number of persons initially abducted during the attack.
It also did not immediately establish how many NYSC members may still be in the custody of the attackers, as efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of any remaining victims continued.
The police said security agencies had deployed “every available operational and intelligence resource” to locate and rescue any persons still being held by the gunmen.
The agencies are also pursuing the attackers with a view to identifying and arresting them.
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