Early Friday morning, heavily armed gunmen abducted nine individuals in Inele-Ugoh ward, Igah Ikeje, Olomaboro Local Government Area, Kogi State.
Among the victims were a woman and her three children en route to a neighbouring community for a burial, while the others were farmers seized from their farms.
Residents quickly alerted troops of the 12 Brigade Nigerian Army stationed nearby, but the kidnappers vanished into the forest with the captives before soldiers could intervene.
Currently, military personnel and local vigilante groups are combing the forests in a rescue operation.
Sources revealed that the bandits, numbering up to 200, operate in large, mobile groups, frequently relocating their hostages to evade capture.
Local voices stressed the urgent need for air support, such as drones or police helicopters, to effectively track and neutralise the criminals, warning that without such measures, security will remain a challenge during the Christmas season.
They described the kidnappers as “desperate and brazen,” operating day and night, calling for intensified state and federal efforts to curb this criminal threat.
Efforts to reach Kogi Police spokesperson SP William Aya for comment were unsuccessful at press time.
