Unknown gunmen, on Saturday, have reportedly kidnapped several women returning from a local market in Dekina local government area of Kogi state.
Also, Pastor Samson Yunusa of the CEFN Church, Ajonoja-Abocho, were abducted along with the market women.
Sources said the market women and Pastor were returning from Abocho market when they ran into a barricade mounted by the hoodlums between Ajakele-Aga and Okowowolo settlement on Saturday around 8pm.
Reports from the community noted that the exact number of abducted persons was still unclear, claiming that occupants of three vehicles were forcefully taken to the bush at gunpoint in the encounter.
“Initially, we thought it was a case of armed robbery. But as more information trickled in, it became clear that it was a case of kidnapping, not robbery,” a source said.
“Information from different persons who plied the road shortly after the incident revealed that passengers in about three vehicles were emptied of their occupants,” the source added.
“Pastor Samson Yunusa of CEFN Church at a branch in Ajonoja-Abocho has been identified as one of the victims.
“Majority of the victims were people from the community, mostly women returning from a local Abocho market in the areas,” said Abdullai Garba, a resident and a youth leader in the community.
According to news from the community on Saturday morning, security operatives, including vigilantes and members of the Kogi East Neighborhood Watch (KEBW), a community policing outfit, were after the abductors, combing the bush in the areas with firepower.
However, the Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Kogi State Police Command, SP William Aya, could not be reached for comment over the incident, as his cellphone were switched off when our reporter called him.
