Reported By Mary Udezue | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
All passengers aboard a Toyota Sienna commercial bus have reportedly been kidnapped after the vehicle was intercepted along the Ejule–Aloma Road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, southwestern Nigeria, according to multiple eyewitness accounts and unverified reports circulating on social media and local communication channels.
The incident, which residents say occurred on Monday evening, has triggered alarm in communities along the Kogi–Kwara border region. Eyewitnesses and local sources indicate that the bus was stopped by a group of armed assailants who forced all occupants from the vehicle and led them into surrounding bushland. At this stage, the precise number of passengers aboard the bus remains unclear, and there has been no immediate official confirmation from the Kogi State Police Command or other security agencies on the ground. However, locals report that the road is a well-used route for commuters, traders and inter-state travellers, and that its recent targeting reflects broader security vulnerabilities in the region.
The development comes amid a heightened climate of insecurity in parts of north-central Nigeria, where criminal gangs, often described locally as bandits, have in recent years increased kidnappings, ambushes and other violent crimes on rural highways. Earlier this week, reports emerged linking the alleged Ejule-Aloma abduction to fears over spillovers from last week’s mass attack in the nearby Woro community, where armed men reportedly killed scores of villagers and abducted others in one of the deadliest episodes in the area’s recent history. That incident, widely discussed on platforms and by security analysts, appears to have exacerbated anxiety about the spread of organized criminal activity across state borders.
The road linking Ejule and Aloma, traversing through forested and sparsely populated terrain, has been flagged by residents as susceptible to criminal activity over the past few months. Security experts have repeatedly warned that highways in Kogi State and neighbouring areas have become hotspots for kidnappers who lie in wait for unsuspecting motorists, exploiting limited law enforcement presence and insufficient patrol coverage. In other recent episodes across Kogi, similar attacks on public transport vehicles have occurred, illustrating a persistent pattern. For example, past incidents along Ette-Enugu Ezike Road involved members of a Sienna bus among other vehicles being seized and passengers taken into the bush, later rescued by combined police and military teams after operations were launched. In those cases authorities confirmed the kidnappings and reclaimed hostages through coordinated tactical responses.
Security officials have not yet published a statement regarding the latest reported abduction. Local residents say that contacts have been made to state and federal security networks, and that alerts have gone out to police, army and civil defence units to respond. Calls have also intensified for more comprehensive and coordinated operations between Kogi and Kwara states, particularly to address cross-border movements of criminal elements and to deny bandit groups freedom of manoeuvre through the forest corridors linking multiple states.
Analysts monitoring regional insecurity say the broader context includes a surge in highway kidnappings across central and northern Nigeria. These are often financially motivated, with kidnappers demanding ransoms for release of captives. In some cases, government security advisories have emphasised a strategy of refusing to negotiate with kidnappers, instead prioritising rescue operations. Nigerian Army and police forces have, on multiple occasions, engaged such groups and freed abducted individuals, sometimes after intense encounters. Past operations in Kogi State have led to the rescue of kidnapped victims and the recovery of ransom sums intended for their release, underscoring both the persistent threat and the challenges facing security forces tasked with responding under difficult conditions.
In the absence of an official update from state authorities or security agencies, families of those believed to have been onboard the Sienna bus are reported to be anxiously awaiting confirmation of the fate of their loved ones. Community leaders around Ejule and Aloma have urged calm and the provision of any information that could assist security forces. They also reiterated longstanding demands for increased patrols, intelligence sharing and permanent security checkpoints on rural roads frequently targeted by criminal networks.
The pattern of kidnappings and highway violence in Kogi State is part of a wider national security concern that has seen similar incidents on federal and state highways in regions extending from the North Central to the North East and South West. Residents and transport operators have called on authorities to redouble efforts to secure major and minor roads, as the economic and social impact of these threats continues to disrupt travel, trade and daily life for millions of Nigerians.
With the situation still unfolding, the focus remains on gaining authoritative confirmation of the reported abduction, the number of people involved, and the steps being taken by security agencies to rescue the victims and restore safety to the affected corridor of the Ejule–Aloma Road.
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