Bandits Kidnap 18 Passengers, Police Officer Killed in Separate Kogi Highway Attacks

​LOKOJA — Commuters and residents of Kogi State have been plunged into panic following two separate, violent highway attacks on Wednesday that left a police officer dead and 18 commercial bus passengers missing.

​The dual incidents have drastically heightened fears over the deteriorating security situation on major transit routes linking the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the southern and western parts of Nigeria.

​The Bus Ambush: 18 Abducted

​In the first incident on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, heavily armed terrorists, suspected to be bandits, intercepted an 18-seater commercial bus along the busy Kabba–Okene Highway.

​According to local sources and eyewitness accounts, the white passenger vehicle had just passed the vicinity of the Kogi State University (KSU) in Kabba when the gunmen emerged from the brush, forcing the vehicle to a sudden halt.

​The attackers reportedly ordered all occupants out of the bus at gunpoint and marched them into the nearby forest.

​Local media platform Egbe Makun Parrot reported that the empty, white commercial bus was left abandoned by the roadside—a stark visual marker of the brazen daylight raid. As of press time, the precise identities and whereabouts of the abducted passengers remain unknown, and no ransom demands have been made public.

​FCT Officer Killed on Duty

​In a separate but equally grim development on the same day, armed robbers operating along the Lokoja–Abuja Expressway attacked and killed a senior police officer.

​The victim has been identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sunday Idakwo. Officer Idakwo was attached to the Safer Highway Patrol under the FCT Police Command and was actively conducting routine patrol duties when his team ran into the hoodlums.

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​“He was killed today while on duty along the Lokoja-Abuja Expressway. He was attacked by armed robbers,” a security source confirmed, noting that the precise operational circumstances surrounding the fatal ambush remain murky.

​Growing Insecurity Sparks Outrage

​The back-to-back attacks have sparked widespread anxiety among regular commuters, transport unions, and residents who rely on Kogi’s critical interstate networks. The Kabba–Okene and Lokoja–Abuja routes are vital economic arteries, and their vulnerability has triggered urgent calls for federal intervention.

​Spokespersons for local community groups have urged the military and Nigeria Police Force to intensify forest sweeps, deploy aerial surveillance, and increase static checkpoints along known vulnerability flashpoints.

​Security agencies are said to be tracking the kidnappers, but official statements regarding rescue operations or arrests have not yet been released.