A rescued passenger from a highway ambush in Kogi State has recounted how gunmen forced victims deep into the forest and demanded tens of millions of naira in ransom before a joint security task force mounted a successful rescue.
The victim, Victor Anyichie, shared his experience in a video posted on Monday following the release of 16 commuters: six adult males, six adult females, and four children. The group had been abducted on Sunday, 9 August 2026, after suspected kidnappers intercepted commuters along the Ojuwo–Ajengo–Memarebo and Ojiwo–Itobe roads in Ofu Local Government Area.
Anyichie recalled that a red Toyota Yaris appeared to maneuver near their bus shortly before armed men surged from the surrounding vegetation. “When he passed the bus, that was when those guys, that Toyota Yaris, now turned and the boys started coming out from the bushes,” he said. Over six attackers emerged, led by a gunman who opened fire into the air: “One of them, I will always recognise his face, even if I’m sleeping. He was the one with the AK-47 shooting up. He was their leader.”
Though the driver tried to evade the attackers, the gang forced the vehicle and its passengers deep into the bush. Anyichie noted that the kidnappers constantly shifted positions to evade detection, relying on informants while sirens and gunfire echoed in the distance. “They were moving us from here to here, here to here,” he explained, adding: “We were hearing sirens outside around eight, nine. So I was telling my guys, maybe these things are rescue guys because we heard like two gunshots that night.”
During their captivity, the abductors assigned specific ransom figures to individual hostages, ranging from ₦100,000 to ₦100 million, and demanded ₦20 million for the children. Anyichie revealed that he was assaulted after telling the captors his family could only gather around ₦500,000: “That was when those guys beat my life. But all the same, that glory belongs to God.”
The ordeal ended when a combined force of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force, local vigilantes, and hunters tracked the group towards Adumu Community in Dekina Local Government Area. Following an intense gun battle, the security team forced the wounded kidnappers to abandon their captives and flee.
Anyichie expressed relief at the swift intervention, noting that the hostages emerged uninjured: “God came for the rescue. We are rescued swiftly, like no scratch on our bodies.” He added that only one passenger who had previously attempted to escape suffered injuries at the hands of the captors, concluding: “it wasn’t a good experience for anybody, and it will never be a good experience for nobody.”
According to military authorities, one local hunter lost his life during the operation, while an injured police officer is currently receiving medical treatment.