In a tragic turn of events, scores of passengers were reportedly kidnapped along the Idah-Ajegwu Road in Kogi State on their way back from various parts of the country and Itobe Market.
Eyewitnesses told The Bureau Newspaper that the assailants ambushed unsuspecting travellers at a section of the road notorious for a large pothole that forces vehicles to slow down. As motorists approached the spot, the kidnappers fired sporadically into the air, creating panic before forcefully abducting the victims and disappearing into the surrounding bushes.
This incident comes barely a week after another spate of kidnappings along the Nsukka-Idah road. A tricycle rider returning from the farm and other travellers returning from the Enugu market were also seized by unknown gunmen. While the tricycle rider managed to escape with injuries, the whereabouts of the other abductees remain unknown.
Efforts by The Bureau Newspaper to obtain a statement from the Kogi State Police Command were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
Residents and travellers have called on security agencies to step up patrols and address the worsening insecurity on the road, which has become a hotspot for criminal activity.
