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Kogi Abduction: Police Rescue 11 NYSC Members, Hunt for Gunmen Continues
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The police in Kogi State have rescued 11 people abducted by gunmen along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of the state.
The victims were among passengers travelling in two buses on Wednesday when armed men reportedly emerged from the bush and intercepted the vehicles around Ogene Zaria.
The incident involved several NYSC members who were travelling from the corps’ orientation camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to Abuja.
Saliu Afusat, spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, disclosed the development in a statement made available to TheCable on Friday.
She said the rescue operation began shortly after security authorities received a distress call concerning the attack.
Afusat said the rescued victims included the drivers of both buses, while preliminary debriefing showed that most of those rescued were NYSC members heading to Abuja from Bayelsa State.
She said the attack took place at about 4:40pm near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, where the gunmen blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions before abducting some of their occupants.
“Upon receipt of the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer, Ofu, led a joint security team to the scene, where two abandoned vehicles — a Peace Mass Transit white Hummer bus and a yellow 18-seater bus — were recovered,” she said.
Following the recovery of the abandoned buses, security operatives began a coordinated bush-combing operation to locate the abducted passengers.
According to the police, the operation eventually led to the rescue of 11 victims.
The rescued persons were taken through debriefing and other necessary procedures before being allowed to proceed with their journey.
However, the command has not revealed how many people were initially abducted in the attack. Police authorities are also still working to establish whether any NYSC members remain in the custody of the attackers.
Afusat said security agencies were using “every available operational and intelligence resource” in the effort to rescue any remaining victims and apprehend the gunmen behind the abduction.
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