Fresh Kidnapping Reports on Kogi Road Heighten Fears after Deadly Woro Massacre

ByEditor

Feb 9, 2026 #Ejule Aloma Road, #Kogi State kidnapping, #Kwara bandit violence, #mass abduction, #Nigeria insecurity, #Ofu Local Government, #Woro community attack

Segun Atanda/

Reports circulating on social media and local community channels claim that passengers travelling in a Toyota Sienna commercial bus were kidnapped on Monday along the Ejule–Aloma Road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The incident has deepened fears of escalating insecurity in the Kogi–Kwara border region.

According to the accounts, the bus was intercepted by suspected armed kidnappers, with all occupants reportedly taken into surrounding bushland.

The number of passengers involved has not been independently established, but residents say the incident occurred this evening on a road frequently used by commuters and traders.

The reported abduction comes barely a week after a major bandit attack on Woro community, a neighbouring area close to the Kwara State boundary, where gunmen reportedly killed more than 160 people and abducted several others in one of the deadliest incidents recorded in the area in recent years.

Security analysts have warned that the Woro massacre marked a dangerous expansion of armed groups operating across state borders, with forest corridors linking parts of Kogi, Kwara and Niger states increasingly used as escape routes and staging grounds for attacks.

Residents of Ejule and nearby communities say the latest reports have heightened anxiety, as rural roads in Ofu Local Government Area have previously been targeted by kidnappers seeking ransom.

In earlier incidents, commercial vehicles were stopped and passengers marched into forested areas before security forces were mobilised.

While the Kogi State Police Command is yet to issue a public statement on the latest incident, locals say security agencies have been alerted.

Calls are also growing for coordinated security operations between Kogi and Kwara states to prevent further spillover of violence following last week’s mass killings.

Kidnapping and mass casualty attacks have become a persistent threat in parts of Nigeria’s North Central region, with communities repeatedly urging the federal and state governments to deploy more personnel and improve intelligence sharing.