From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers had, in separate attacks, abducted over thirteen persons comprising of traders and travellers.
The attacks which took place between Wednesday and Thursday left two persons dead
Eye witness revealed that, on Wednesday, some kidnappers invaded Okabo community in Ofu local government of Kogi state, one person was shot dead and another person and a minor were abducted.
“There was a kidnapping incident at Egabada community in Igalamela/Odolu local government of Kogi state early Thursday morning where traders from Kogi East heading to a market Obolo-Affor in Enugu state were intercepted and the occupants of the vehicle including the driver, the Conductor and a woman were held captive and taken into the forest.
Another groups of gunmen invaded the federal highways and mounted blockade between Ogbakpedo and Okabo along Itobe-Anyigba road. The gunmen intercepted two commercial vehicles and evacuated all the occupants including two pregnant women and match them into the bush.
While marching the victims into the bush, the kidnappers sorted out the two pregnant women and set them free. But the kidnappers made away with eight victims.
The leadership of the Kogi East Neighborhood Watch (KENW) expressed worries over these incessant cases of kidnapping in the last two weeks running. “We have had cases of kidnapping coming almost on daily bases, we are getting fed up, we need reinforcement to comb the forest and set the victims free. We can only do this with support of the state government”.
But the Kogi state police command could not be reached for confirmation of the attacks. The police public relations officer ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat cannot be accessed through phone.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Yagba West Local Government Area in Kogi, Mr. Tosin Olokun, has imposed an indefinite dusk-to-dawn curfew across communities in the area, amid rising security concerns such as kidnapping and other criminal activities.
