Several members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were abducted on Wednesday along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu LGA of Kogi state.
The corps members were returning from the NYSC orientation camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA of Bayelsa state when the incident happened.
In a statement made available to TheCable on Friday, Saliu Afusat, spokesperson of the Kogi police command, said a rescue operation was undertaken immediately after the kidnapping.
Afusat said the operation resulted in “the successful rescue of 11 abducted victims, including the drivers of the two buses”.
The Kogi police spokesperson said “most” of the rescued victims were identified as NYSC members.
TheCable cannot immediately ascertain the number of corps members seized by the assailants.
“At about 1640hrs, armed hoodlums emerged from the bush around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions and abducted some passengers, while others escaped into the surrounding bush,” the police statement reads in part.
“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.
“A coordinated bush-combing and rescue operation was immediately launched. The operation resulted in the successful rescue of 11 abducted victims, including the drivers of the two buses. Preliminary debriefing indicates that most of the rescued victims are NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja.
“The rescued victims have been debriefed and, after necessary procedures, were allowed to continue their journey.”
The Kogi police command said “every available operational and intelligence resource is being deployed” to rescue the remaining victims.
