Army Rescues 9 More Kidnapped Commuters in Kogi Days After Freeing 16 Others

Nigerian Army troops rescue nine commuters kidnapped along the Ajaokuta–Itobe road in Kogi's Ofu LGA, just two days after a joint operation freed 16 other victims nearby.

                         

Ofu, Kogi State — August 11, 2026

The Nigerian Army has rescued nine commuters abducted by suspected kidnappers along the Ajaokuta–Itobe road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, in the second major rescue operation in the area within three days.

According to a statement issued by the Army on its official social media handle, troops deployed at Patrol Base Itobe responded swiftly after receiving reports that kidnappers had ambushed commuters along the busy route. On arrival at the scene, soldiers found a Toyota Hiace bus and a Toyota Sienna abandoned by the roadside, with the passengers nowhere to be found.

Troops immediately launched a pursuit operation, tracking the kidnappers' escape route toward the outskirts of Adumu community in neighboring Dekina Local Government Area, where they engaged the abductors in a gun battle. 

The nine captives were freed in the course of the operation, though the Army did not disclose whether any suspects were killed, injured, or arrested during the confrontation.

The Army said search operations remain ongoing to locate any additional victims and to apprehend the kidnappers still at large, adding that troops remain committed to protecting lives and property across the country in collaboration with other security agencies.

The rescue comes just two days after a separate joint operation, involving the Army's 21 Battalion, the Nigerian Navy Ship Lugard, police, local vigilantes, and hunters, freed all 16 people abducted on August 9 along the nearby Ojuwo–Ajengo–Memarebo and Ojiwo–Itobe roads, also in Ofu LGA. 

That operation, which similarly pushed into Dekina LGA on intelligence that the victims had been moved near Adumu community, came at the cost of one local hunter killed during the rescue.

Together, the back-to-back operations point to a concentrated wave of highway kidnappings along the Ojuwo–Itobe corridor in Kogi State, prompting sustained military and multi-agency deployment to the area. 

As of this report, Kogi Police had separately confirmed deploying a joint team to comb forests and suspected hideouts around the nearby Okene–Ajaokuta axis following a related kidnapping incident on the Okene-Auchi Road.