Fifteen members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have reportedly been abducted by gunmen along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The corps members were said to have been travelling to Abuja on Wednesday after completing their orientation programme at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The victims were members of the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream II and were reportedly travelling in two buses when the attackers struck.
A relative of one of the abducted corps members, who spoke with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), said his brother, Ayodele David, was among those taken.
According to the source, a police officer, Adeji Joshua, later contacted some of the victims’ families and confirmed that the incident occurred around Ofu LGA, along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo route.
The abducted passengers were reportedly travelling in a Peace Mass Transit bus and another vehicle marked 564.
“According to a police officer who contacted us later that night, the incident occurred around Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State, along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis,” the relative told FIJ.
The driver of the Peace Mass Transit bus was reportedly left at the scene after sustaining injuries during the attack and was later taken to hospital for treatment.
The source also claimed that the attackers spoke Fulfulde, Hausa and English, although the families could not independently determine their identities.
He explained that 16 people had initially been recorded on one of the passenger manifests, but one corps member was moved to another vehicle after the driver indicated that the bus was already full.
“From the explanation of the driver, who was badly injured, 15 passengers were kidnapped even though 16 people were listed on the manifest,” he said.
A video reportedly recorded at the scene showed the attackers firing at the vehicles before taking away the passengers.
However, Premium Times said it could not independently verify the identities of the attackers or establish whether a ransom had been demanded as of the time of reporting.
Attempts to obtain confirmation from the Kogi State Police Command were unsuccessful, as its spokesperson, Saliu Afusat, reportedly did not respond to calls.
Peace Mass Transit’s published customer service and emergency numbers also reportedly went unanswered.
The latest incident comes amid a series of reported kidnapping attacks on major roads and forest corridors in Kogi State in recent weeks.
On August 9, security agencies reported that commuters were abducted along the Ojuwo-Ajengo-Memarebo and Ojiwo-Itobe roads in Ofu LGA. The Nigerian Army later announced that 16 victims had been rescued after troops, alongside the police, Navy, vigilantes and hunters, engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle near Adumu in Dekina LGA.
One local hunter was reportedly killed during the operation, while a police officer sustained injuries.
Earlier, on August 8, the Kogi State Police Command said it had stepped up security operations around the Okene-Ajaokuta axis following another kidnapping incident on the Okene-Auchi Road.
The repeated attacks have heightened concerns over the safety of travellers using Kogi’s highways, particularly routes connecting the state to neighbouring states and areas surrounded by forested terrain.