Suspected bandits on Sunday attacked motorists along the Ayere-Kabba highway in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, killing one person and abducting several passengers.
Reports from the community indicated that the incident occurred around 5 p.m. when the victims ran into an ambush along the busy route. As of press time, Daily Trust could not confirm the total number of persons taken into the bush.
The incident comes at a time the Presidency announced that Nigeria had recorded an “81 per cent reduction in terror-related deaths since 2015,” attributing the decline to “improved counter-insurgency operations and stronger collaboration between security agencies and affected communities.”
In a statement posted on its official X handle on Sunday, the Presidency said “more than 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year,” while “over 124,000 fighters and their dependents have surrendered to authorities.”
It added that “over 2.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home,” with reconstruction efforts ongoing in previously affected areas under the Federal Government’s Resettlement Scheme for Persons Impacted by Conflict.
Victims of the latest attack were said to be travellers from Lagos heading to Abuja through that axis of Kogi State.
Locals said two buses with registration numbers “MAN 399XA” and “MAN 425XA,” another bus, and two cars were found at the scene of the attack in the Ayere area, a boundary community near Ondo State.
According to one of the survivors, Kolawole Olawoye, who escaped with bullet wounds, passengers in three vehicles—including a Camry car and a Boxer—were abducted by the gunmen.
“Four of us, including a lady in the car, sustained gunshot injuries. We were travelling from Lagos to Abuja but ran into the ambush of the terrorists at a place called Ayere in Kogi. I stopped and quickly put my car in reverse.
“The hoodlums opened fire on the car, destroyed its water tank, and the car came to an abrupt halt. We alighted and ran into the bush for cover, with bullet wounds,” said Olawoye.
He added that after some time, they emerged from the bush and were taken to the hospital by locals. The injured victims, identified as Urajo Babangida, Leonard Amuze, Mercy Avine, and Babangida, are currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Kabba.
A source confirmed that one person later died in the hospital from severe gunshot injuries sustained in the attack.
Locals expressed concern for the abducted passengers, noting that several of them were taken into the bush with gunshot wounds.
Efforts to reach the Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP William Aya, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages sent to him went unanswered.