KEY POINTS

• Gunmen attacked two buses carrying passengers, including NYSC members, along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Kogi.
• Police rescued 11 victims, including the two bus drivers, after a coordinated bush-combing operation.
• Security agencies are continuing efforts to locate any remaining victims and arrest the attackers.

Several National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members were abducted by armed gunmen along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, when the victims were travelling from the NYSC orientation camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State towards Abuja.

According to the Kogi State Police Command, the Kidnappers emerged from a bush around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions.

The gunmen reportedly forced some of the passengers out of the vehicles before taking them into the surrounding bush

Police launch rescue operation

Police spokesperson in Kogi State, Saliu Afusat, said security operatives immediately mobilised after receiving a distress call about the attack.

The Divisional Police Officer in Ofu led a joint team of security personnel to the scene, where they found two abandoned vehicles, a Peace Mass Transit white Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus.

Security operatives subsequently began a coordinated bush-combing operation in an attempt to locate the abducted passengers and track down the attackers.

The operation resulted in the rescue of 11 abducted persons, including the drivers of the two buses.

The police said preliminary debriefing indicated that most of those rescued were NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja.

After undergoing the necessary security procedures and debriefing, the rescued victims were released to continue their journey.

However, the police did not provide the total number of people abducted during the attack.