Fifteen members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have reportedly been abducted by gunmen while travelling through Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The corps members, who were part of the 2026 Batch B Stream II, were reportedly attacked on Wednesday along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis while travelling from the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to Abuja.
A relative of one of the victims told the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) that the corps members were travelling in two buses when the gunmen attacked. The relative said his brother, identified as Ayodele David, was among those taken.
A police officer, Adeji Joshua, reportedly contacted some of the victims’ families later that night and informed them that the attack occurred around Ofu LGA. The victims were said to have included passengers travelling in a Peace Mass Transit bus and another vehicle marked 564.
The source said the driver of the Peace Mass Transit bus was injured and left behind after the attack before being taken to hospital. He reportedly told the victims’ relatives that 15 passengers were abducted, although 16 people had initially been listed on the manifest.
The attackers were said to have spoken Fulfulde, Hausa and English. A video reportedly recorded at the scene showed gunmen firing at the vehicles before taking passengers away, although the identities of the attackers have not been independently established.
There was no confirmed information on whether the abductors had contacted the families to demand a ransom. Efforts to obtain an official response from the Kogi State Police Command were unsuccessful, while calls to Peace Mass Transit’s published contact numbers were also unanswered.
The reported abduction comes amid a series of kidnapping incidents along roads in Kogi State. Earlier in August, security agencies said 16 commuters abducted around the Ojuwo-Ajengo-Memarebo and Ojiwo-Itobe roads were rescued during an operation involving the military, police, Navy, vigilantes and hunters. The repeated attacks have renewed concerns over the safety of travellers using Kogi’s highways and forest corridors.
