Three passengers abducted by armed bandits along the Itobe-Ajegwu-Anyigba road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State have regained their freedom after seizing the opportunity to crawl out of captivity while their abductors slept off deep in the forest. 

The dramatic escape came barely hours after the victims were among a group of travellers seized during a violent ambush on two commercial buses on Saturday, in the latest in a series of kidnapping incidents on one of Kogi State’s most troubled highway corridors.

The victims, who identified themselves as Michael Adejo, Monday and Mariam Yakubu, recounted a terrifying ordeal that began when their bus ran straight into a roadside barricade mounted by the armed men. One of the escapees described the chaos that followed, saying the gunmen — numbering up to 10 and armed with AK-47 rifles and pump-action weapons — immediately forced all passengers out of the vehicle at gunpoint. The second bus travelling behind them attempted to flee but was fired upon, with the driver losing control and crashing into roadside cashew trees. All the passengers from both vehicles were then marched at gunpoint into the surrounding bush. Another escapee identified as Adaji said that once in the forest, the abductors ordered the captives to lie face down, searched them thoroughly and stripped them of all valuables, including mobile phones and cash, before moving them deeper into the forest.

The window for escape opened when some of the bandits guarding the captives eventually tired and fell asleep.

Adaji and two others quietly crawled out of the makeshift holding area and fled into the surrounding forest, managing to evade recapture in what was described as a tense but ultimately successful bid for freedom. A local resident, Ahiaba Michael, confirmed that security operatives, local vigilantes and hunters had mobilised swiftly after the initial attack and launched a search operation, but the bandits’ knowledge of the terrain meant they initially managed to evade the pursuit teams and vanish deeper into the forest with their captives.

Alongside the bus passengers, a motorcycle rider who had the misfortune of passing through the area at the time of the attack was also reportedly abducted and taken to an unknown location.

The remaining victims who did not escape are still being held, and their whereabouts have not been confirmed at the time of this report.

In a separate development, a security source disclosed that one Monday Agi was arrested shortly after the incident, allegedly having lost his way while under pressure from the intensified security search. The Kogi State Police Command’s spokesperson, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, had not responded to enquiries as of the time of filing this report.

The Itobe-Ajegwu-Anyigba corridor in Ofu Local Government Area has become one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in Kogi State’s eastern senatorial district, with multiple kidnapping incidents recorded along the route in recent years. The latest attack has renewed alarm among residents and travellers and further underscored the persistent security challenge facing the state, as calls mount for a more sustained and effective response from law enforcement agencies.