Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The 16 passengers who boarded the Peace Mass Transit bus on Sunday, August 9, 2026, expected a routine journey from Kogi State towards the eastern part of Nigeria. But their trip became a harrowing nightmare when armed men ambushed the vehicle along the Itobe–Anyigba Highway in Ofu Local Government Area, taking them deep into the bush and demanding ransoms running into tens of millions of naira. In a video posted by News Central on Monday, rescued passenger Victor Anyichie recounted the chilling details of the attack, the kidnappers' brazen demands, and the desperate moments before security forces mounted a joint operation that freed them all unharmed.
Anyichie said the attack began with a red Toyota Yaris that appeared to position itself around their bus. "When he passed the bus, that was when those guys, that Toyota Yaris, now turned and the boys started coming out from the bushes," he recounted. According to him, more than six armed men emerged from the bush, with the leader firing an AK-47 as they attacked the vehicle. "One of them, I will always recognise his face, even if I'm sleeping. He was the one with the AK-47 shooting up. He was their leader," Anyichie said.
The driver attempted to manoeuvre into the bush, but the attackers overwhelmed the vehicle, taking both the passengers and the bus deep into the forest. "We were going very, very far. But inside that bush, we could be hearing buses passing," Anyichie recalled. The captors repeatedly moved the victims from one location to another, while they could hear security sirens and gunshots in the distance. "We were hearing sirens outside around eight, nine. So I was telling my guys, maybe these things are rescue guys because we heard like two gunshots that night," he said. Anyichie alleged that the kidnappers had informants and kept relocating the victims to evade security operatives.
The kidnappers subsequently assigned ransom amounts to each victim and instructed them to contact their relatives for payment. "They were telling us, you, 100,000. You, 100 million. You, 17 million. You, 15 million. The children, 20 million," Anyichie said. When he told the kidnappers his family could raise about N500,000, "that was when those guys beat my life. But all the same, that glory belongs to God," he said. Another victim, Ngozi Stephen, who acted as an interpreter for the Hausa-speaking kidnappers, provided even more detail. "They told me, tell this person 50 million, tell this person 100 million, tell this person 70 million," she said. "Even when I tried to plead and ask them to reduce it a bit, they threatened to beat me up because they were beating people and all that. But luckily I wasn't because I was an interpreter".
The kidnappers controlled all communication with the outside world. "We called, they took all our phones, switched them off and kept them with them. So, when they want us to speak to our people, they give us back the phones and you call," Stephen said. "At a point, they were even threatening that if we were not able to provide the money, they would just sell us to ritualists".
The rescue came before the victims could make further arrangements for ransom payments. "God came for the rescue. We are rescued swiftly, like no scratch on our bodies," Anyichie said. One victim who attempted to escape was caught and injured by the abductors. "Only the guy that tried to escape yesterday from them, that they caught his hand. But it wasn't a good experience for anybody, and it will never be a good experience for nobody," he added.
The Kogi State Police Command confirmed that the abduction occurred at about 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, 2026, when a Peace Mass Transit bus was intercepted between Ojuwo Ajengo and Mamerebo, an identified kidnapping flashpoint along the Itobe–Achigili axis of the highway. Commissioner of Police CP Naziru Bello Kankarofi ordered the immediate deployment of tactical and intelligence assets to track the abductors and rescue the victims.
The rescue operation involved personnel of the police, the 12 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, local vigilantes and other auxiliary security forces. According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, the operatives engaged the abductors in a fierce gun battle, neutralising several kidnappers while others fled into the surrounding forest. A local vigilante supporting the operation was killed, and a police officer sustained gunshot injuries. Despite the resistance, security operatives reached the kidnappers and rescued all 15 victims directly from their custody. The victims, comprising 12 adults and three children, including two Federal Road Safety Corps personnel, were found safe and unharmed. One of the victims, identified as a vigilante, was killed during the operation, while a police officer sustained gunshot injuries but survived.
The rescued victims were identified as CRC I. Ibe and SRC Ik. Ukandu, both FRSC personnel; Josephbah; Joshua Daniel; Joy Ogbu; Chigocife Ogbu; Charity Aneebo; Ngozi Stephin; Somaliya Zegu; Chidera Emanuel; Pamela Oraeto; Abakwam Loveth; Chimereze Nekuma; Chibok Nzekwu; and Victor Edozi Anyichie. The command said efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing abductors, while tactical and intelligence-driven operations were being sustained in the area. Three other coordinated security operations were ongoing at different locations across the state as part of efforts to disrupt criminal activities and protect residents.
The Itobe–Anyigba Highway has become a flashpoint for kidnapping, with security forces repeatedly deploying tactical teams to the area. The latest rescue underscores the continued collaboration between security forces and local vigilante groups in responding to kidnapping incidents and protecting residents in vulnerable communities. The Kogi State Police Command has urged members of the public to remain vigilant and provide timely and credible information that could assist security agencies in apprehending criminal elements.
The incident also highlighted the psychological terror inflicted on victims. The kidnappers' threats to sell them to ritualists, coupled with the physical beatings, underscore the brutality of the criminal networks operating in the region. The rescue of all 16 victims without any fatalities is a testament to the professionalism and courage of the security forces involved, even as the manhunt for the fleeing abductors continues. The people of Kogi State, and indeed all Nigerians who travel the nation's highways, can only hope that this operation marks a turning point in the fight against kidnapping.
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