A rescued victim of the Kogi State highway abduction, Victor Anyichie, has recounted how suspected kidnappers ambushed his bus, took passengers deep into the bush and demanded ransoms running into millions of naira before security forces rescued them.
Anyichie shared the account in a video posted by News Central on Monday, following the rescue of the abducted passengers by a joint security team comprising the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force, vigilantes and local hunters.
The victims were abducted on Sunday, August 9, 2026, when suspected kidnappers attacked commuters along the Ojuwo–Ajengo–Memarebo and Ojiwo–Itobe roads in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The Army later said all 16 victims, comprising six adult males, six adult females and four children, were rescued after security forces engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle.
Recounting the attack, Anyichie said the kidnappers emerged from the bush after a red Toyota Yaris appeared to have positioned itself around their vehicle.
He said, “When he passed the bus, that was when those guys, that Toyota Yaris, now turned and the boys started coming out from the bushes.”
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According to him, more than six armed men emerged from the bush, with the leader firing an AK-47 as they attacked the vehicle.
“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,” Anyichie said.
He said the driver attempted to manoeuvre into the bush, but the attackers eventually took them and their bus deep into the forest.
“They took us from there, our bus inside the bush, far away. We were going very, very far. But inside that bush, we could be hearing buses passing,” he recounted.
Anyichie said the captors repeatedly moved the victims from one location to another, while they could hear security sirens and gunshots in the distance.
“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,” he said.
He also alleged that the kidnappers had informants and kept relocating the victims to evade security operatives.
“They were moving us from here to here, here to here. Even this morning, they moved us from where we were yesterday to the present place,” he said.
Anyichie said the kidnappers subsequently assigned ransom amounts to the victims and instructed them to contact their relatives for payment.
“They were telling us, you, 100,000. You, 100 million. You, 17 million. You, 15 million. The children, 20 million,” he said.Related News
- He said he was among those tasked with contacting relatives, adding that he told the kidnappers his family could raise about N500,000 or more.
“That was when those guys beat my life. But all the same, that glory belongs to God,” he said.
According to him, the rescue operation came before the victims could make further arrangements for ransom payments.
“God came for the rescue. We are rescued swiftly, like no scratch on our bodies,” Anyichie said.
He, however, said one of the victims who attempted to escape had been caught and injured by the abductors.
“Only the guy that tried to escape yesterday from them, that they cut his hand. But it wasn’t a good experience for anybody, and it will never be a good experience for nobody,” he added.
The rescue followed a joint operation launched after security agencies received intelligence that the victims had been moved towards Adumu Community in Dekina Local Government Area.
The Army said the security team engaged the fleeing kidnappers in a firefight, forcing them to abandon the captives and escape into the surrounding forest with gunshot wounds.
One local hunter was killed during the operation, while a police officer sustained injuries and was receiving medical treatment.
Watch video here.
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