Kogi: Families agonise as abductees languish in captivity
For many families and communities across Kogi West senatorial district, the 2025 yuletide season did not come with songs and celebration, but fear, grief and uncertainty, Weekend Trust reports. In several communities ravaged by persistent banditry attacks, Christmas celebrations have been replaced by hurried relocations, ransom negotiations and silent prayers for loved ones still held […]
Some of the kidnapped victims from Aiyetoro-Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, Kogi State
For many families and communities across Kogi West senatorial district, the 2025 yuletide season did not come with songs and celebration, but fear, grief and uncertainty, Weekend Trust reports.
In several communities ravaged by persistent banditry attacks, Christmas celebrations have been replaced by hurried relocations, ransom negotiations and silent prayers for loved ones still held in captivity.
From Yagba land to the Kabba/Bunu axis, gun-wielding assailants have laid siege to towns and farm settlements with alarming impunity. The result is a trail of abductions and sorrow that have drained the festive spirit from entire communities, leaving households focused more on survival than celebration.
Weekend Trust reports that no fewer than 50 abductees are currently held in captivity following persistent attacks and abduction of locals, especially from the Kogi West senatorial district.
Between December 7 and 19, more than 50 persons were kidnapped across several communities in Yagba East and West, Mopa-Muro, and Kabba/Bunu Local Government Areas of the state.
A breakdown shows that three persons were abducted at Odo-Ogbe on December 7; three others were taken during the invasion of Bassa community in Ilai on December 14; while a farmer popularly known as “Old Soldier” was kidnapped on December 12 at Isanlu in Yagba East/West.
Also confirmed were 28 victims from the December 14 attack on ECWA Church, Ayetoro, with verification still ongoing, as well as 10 persons abducted during the December 19 attack on Olle-Bunu community in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area.
With victims of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church attack in Ejiba on November 30 still in captivity, the total number of kidnapped persons is expected to exceed 50.
Relatives and community leaders spoken to said they were worried over the wellbeing of the abductees, some who have spent over a month in captivity.
Findings reveal that many residents of the affected areas are abandoning their homes for relatively safer locations rather than stocking food or planning family reunions for the Christmas and New Year celebrations. In villages where attacks have become routine, the mood is sombre and cautious.
An elder and community leader in Isanlu, the headquarters of Yagba East Local Government Area, Pa Ajiboye Adebayo, said the violence and abductions had extinguished the communal excitement traditionally associated with the festive season.
“These are ancestral communities where everyone is connected by blood or history. When one person is attacked, the whole community feels it. An injury to one is truly an injury to all,” he said.
According to him, settlements along the Isanlu–Makutu–Idofin axis, Ogbe, Okunran, Isanlu-Esa, Ilafin, Okoloke, Oke-Agi and Ilai have all lost the glitz and euphoria that once marked festive periods due to the situation.
“Some people were kidnapped and later released after paying ransom, but they returned traumatised. Some died. Many are still in captivity after weeks and months. Families are desperate, selling assets and begging for help. Others have simply fled to avoid becoming the next victims,” he added.
The psychological toll, Pa Adebayo added, has plunged social and cultural activities to their lowest ebb.
“We don’t even know if we would spend this festive season at home, in the bush or grave. That fear says everything,” he lamented.
Weekend Trust reports that recent incidents underscore the scale of the crisis. On December 7, tragedy struck at Isanlu when three siblings: Moses (17), Bidemi (33) and Olumide (30) were abducted at the Odogbe axis of Yagba East.
They were reportedly returning from Kwara State after performing burial rites for their late mother when gunmen intercepted them. Their captors are said to be demanding a N30 million ransom.
“The same family that buried their mother on Friday lost three sons to kidnappers on Sunday.
“The entire community is in pain trying to raise money to help, but the amount is overwhelming,” a resident of Isanlu said under anonymity.
Farmers and farm settlements have also borne the brunt of the violence. Across Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopamuro local governments, armed men have attacked agricultural communities, abducting farmers and destroying livelihoods.
On December 8, gunmen reportedly abducted the wife and children of a farmer identified as Baba Comfort while they were tending crops near the Ofili River, on the outskirts of Egbe in Yagba West. Four days later, on December 12, another farmer, Dada Babatege, popularly known as “Old Soldier” was kidnapped from his farm behind St Kizito College at Isanlu.
Further attacks followed on December 14 at Jamroro farm settlements between Oke-Agi and Takete Isao, as well as Ilai town in Mopamuro Local Government Area, where several farmers were whisked into the bush.
“Many farm settlements that once produced food for these communities have been destroyed. Some farmers were killed, others kidnapped. The impact on food production is serious, and prices of foodstuffs are rising,” Durojaiye Emmanuel, a long-time trader at Isanlu said.
He expressed worry over the fate of their loved ones and community members still held in captivity, urging the government to take urgent action to ensure safe a rescue of the victims.
Weekend Trust reports that the spate of insecurity has deepened with the targeting of churches, traditionally regarded as safe havens.
Barely two weeks after gunmen invaded a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, abducting a pastor, his wife and other worshippers, they struck again at an ECWA Church in Ayetoro Kiri, kidnapping many parishioners.
A source from the Ejiba church said the attackers demanded N500 million ransom and recently issued a two-day ultimatum, warning of grave consequences if families defaulted.
“The first church attack was shocking; the second one confirmed that no place is safe. People are now afraid. Celebrations are being kept at the barest minimum, Pastor Ezekiel, a pastor said.”
Government sources later confirmed that 13 worshippers were abducted from the ECWA Church, with their fate still unknown.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Government insists that it is not relenting in the fight against banditry. Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has repeatedly described the campaign as “no retreat, no surrender,” urging residents to support security agencies with timely and credible intelligence.
Recently, the government announced the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition following a joint overnight operation by security agencies. Items recovered included 24 AK-47 rifles, 23 pump-action rifles, a Tavor rifle, an FN rifle, pistols, magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, tear gas cartridges and other military hardware.
Governor Ododo said the success was a product of coordinated intelligence-driven operations, assuring residents that the situation was under control and urging them to go about their lawful activities without fear.
But across the embattled communities, optimism remains cautious as bandits continue to abduct more people.