Police confirm Kogi kidnapping of 12 passengers along Okene–Auchi Road. Eight rescued, four still missing as ransom demand intensifies fear of highway insecurity.
The Kogi kidnapping of 12 passengers on Friday, September 27, has once again underscored the dangers of traveling on Nigeria’s highways.
Armed gunmen ambushed a commercial bus along the Okene–Auchi Road, forcing passengers into the surrounding forest.
The bus, owned by Big Joe Ventures Ltd and bearing registration number Edo FUG 13 XY, had set out from Abuja, bound for Benin City, Edo State, when the attackers struck.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer for Kogi State, SP William Ovye Aya, said all 12 occupants, including the driver, were taken hostage.
He explained that a swift response followed: the Divisional Police Officer of Okene Division, CSP Nasir Muhammad, mobilized a joint team of police, soldiers, and local vigilantes to track the kidnappers.
“In the operation, eight passengers, including the driver, were rescued alive,” Aya told reporters.
“Efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining four and to apprehend the perpetrators.”
Among those still in captivity is Barrister Onyesom Peace Udoka, a young lawyer who had only days earlier been called to the Nigerian Bar in Abuja. She was traveling with her sister when the bus was intercepted.
The kidnappers have reportedly demanded ₦20 million for her release, plunging her family and colleagues into distress. Udoka’s ordeal has sparked outrage across legal circles, with many calling for urgent government intervention.
The Kogi kidnapping adds to a troubling pattern of abductions in the state. Just two weeks earlier, 17 travelers were rescued along the Lokoja–Obajana Road after a swift operation by the Nigerian Army and local hunters.
Kogi’s geography makes it especially vulnerable. As a gateway between northern and southern Nigeria, with vast forests and rugged terrain, the state has become a haven for criminal gangs who exploit its porous borders.
Security experts note that highways such as the Okene–Auchi Road are frequent targets because commercial buses carry multiple victims at once, increasing the ransom payoff.
For travelers, the repeated attacks have created an atmosphere of fear. Many commuters now avoid nighttime journeys or reroute through longer, costlier roads.
Commercial transport operators, including Big Joe Ventures Ltd, face declining patronage as passengers increasingly see road travel as a gamble with their lives.
The ripple effects go further: traders, students, and civil servants who rely on these highways for daily business find their livelihoods disrupted.
Families of victims often suffer the most, forced to raise exorbitant ransoms by selling land, property, or borrowing at high interest.
The plight of Barrister Udoka, a promising lawyer at the start of her career, illustrates the human cost. Her abduction has turned a moment of celebration into a nightmare for her family.
Authorities say they are doing all they can, but critics argue the response is mostly reactive. Rescue missions, while commendable, do little to deter kidnappers from striking again.
Civil society groups are pushing for preventive measures: increased patrols on vulnerable routes, deployment of drones for surveillance, and better welfare for security personnel.
Local vigilante groups, often the first responders, are praised for their courage but are hampered by lack of resources and training.
The Kogi kidnapping is part of a broader national crisis. Across Nigeria, kidnapping for ransom has become one of the fastest-growing crimes, cutting across regions and social classes. From students to professionals, no group appears immune.
Analysts warn that the crime has grown into a lucrative industry, fueled by economic hardship, weak policing, and the ability of gangs to move across porous state borders. Without decisive action, they argue, Nigerians will continue to live in fear of road travel.
The abduction of 12 passengers on the Okene–Auchi Road, and the rescue of eight, is the latest reminder of the fragility of Nigeria’s security architecture.
The fate of the four still held by their captors, including Barrister Udoka, remains uncertain.
For now, families wait in anguish, security forces remain in pursuit, and the Kogi kidnapping stands as both a warning and a call to action.
Until the highways are secured, the fear of abduction will continue to cast a long shadow over travel in Nigeria.
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