Terrorists kidnap nine passengers, injure three in separate attacks on Kogi-Kwara highway

Terrorists, locally known as bandits, have kidnapped nine passengers and injured three other people, including a commercial driver, in separate attacks on a highway connecting Kogi and Kwara States.

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According to a community blog post on Facebook, the attacks happened on Saturday between Egbe and Eruku on the Egbe-Ilorin highway

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the nine people kidnapped were travelling from Isanlu Makutu in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State to Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.

Two of the kidnapped passengers are white-garment church leaders identified as Prophet Micheal and Iyabode Asubiojo.

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In a separate attack, the terrorists waylaid a commercial vehicle returning from Ilorin, opening fire on the driver.

Two other people—a Hausa trader and another person from the Egbe community—were injured in that attack.

An aftermath video of the attack seen by our reporter shows a goods-laden vehicle, riddled by bullets. The driver’s seat was stained with blood.

“According to the driver, he said the bandits came out in numbers, shooting straight at him,” the community blog post read.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the driver, who hails from Isanlu, the headquarters of Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State, is in a hospital.

“He is critically injured and urgently needs family care and community support,” Egbe Mekun Parrot said in an update posted two hours after it reported the attack.

“We appeal to Isanlu people to please check on him, gather the necessary details and offer every possible assistance,” it added. “We specifically call on the Yagba East LGA Chairman to collaborate with his counterpart in Yagba West and immediately swing into action on this issue.”

The police in Kwara and Kogi States have not issued an official statement about the incident. Police spokespersons in these states, William Aya (Kogi) and Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi (Kwara), have not responded to enquiries sent to them.

Insecurity in Kwara and Kogi

Both located in the North-central, Kogi and Kwara have become a banditry hotspot, with frequent reports of kidnapping since the beginning of this year.

Although the Nigerian government has deployed security forces to these states, resulting in the rescue of kidnapped victims, highway abduction and violent raids on remote villages continued unabated.

From Yagba West, Yagba East LGAs in Kogi, to Patigi, Edu, and Ifelodun LGAs in Kwara, residents of local communities live in fear amid worsening, underreported kidnappings and killings.

READ ALSO: Gunmen reportedly abduct three INEC officers, others in Kogi

On 10 September, three police officers and two vigilantes were killed in Egbe community, Yagba West LGA. Three days later, terrorists gunned down two police officers in Ilafin-Isanlu, Yagba East.

In Kwara, locals told PREMIUM TIMES that more than 50 people have been killed in attacks on 41 communities in Edu and Patigi LGAs alone.

In Ifelodun LGA, villages like Eka, Upper Eka, Lower Eka, Kudagbari, Gbanmu, Oloruntele, Baba Sango, Ibudo Idowu, Ibudo Olosun, Ayetoro, and Apata Olosun have been deserted following repeated bandits’ attacks.