31 rescued, 7 nonetheless lacking after night time kidnap on Kogi freeway

A minimum of 31 kidnapped passengers have been rescued by a mixed group of Nigerian Military troops, police operatives, and native hunters after a violent night time assault on commuters alongside the Apata-Obajana street in Kogi State.

The incident, which occurred late Thursday night time, was made public by safety analyst Zagazola Makama in a submit on X (previously Twitter) on Friday.

In response to the submit, the assault came about round 11:50 p.m. on Could 8, when armed bandits ambushed two Toyota Hiace buses travelling from Lagos to Kano and Katsina respectively.

The primary bus, with registration quantity DTF 773 XA, was pushed by Saminu Yahaya and carried 17 passengers en path to Kano. The second bus, with quantity KNA 170 XA, pushed by Bashir Dahiru, additionally carried 17 passengers heading to Katsina.

Makama said that the troops have been alerted by an area hunter, prompting a swift response from the joint rescue group.

“The safety personnel engaged the assailants in a fierce gun battle, forcing the criminals to desert 31 of their captives and flee into the forest,” he wrote.

“4 of the rescued passengers sustained machete accidents, whereas one sufferer was shot within the left thigh,” Makama revealed.

“All of the injured individuals have been evacuated to a close-by hospital for pressing medical consideration.”

Regardless of the success of the rescue, seven passengers stay lacking.

Safety forces have reportedly intensified efforts to find and free the remaining victims.