Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers ambushed a funeral convoy along the Ochadamu-Ejule Road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, abducting nine mourners, including two officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), while transporting the remains of a senior FRSC officer for burial.
The incident occurred around 6 p.m. on Thursday as the convoy was conveying the body of the late Deputy Corps Commander of the FRSC, Augustine Ikwue, from Osun State to his hometown of Otukpo in Benue State for burial.
According to reports, the deceased officer had died in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, after a brief illness.
The kidnappers were initially reported to have taken the corpse along with the mourners. However, the body was later found abandoned near Ejule community and recovered by security personnel before being released to the family for burial.
Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Lawal Fagge, said nine people were abducted during the attack, including two FRSC personnel.
Fagge disclosed that the kidnappers later contacted the deceased officer’s wife using his mobile phone and demanded a ransom of N450 million for the release of those still in captivity.
“We recovered the corpse of the officer in Ejule community on Friday after frantic searching and handed it over to the family. He was buried on Saturday in his hometown of Otukpo in Benue State.
“The abductors used the cellphone of the deceased officer to call his wife, demanding a huge sum of money for those in their captivity to regain their freedom,” he said.
Security operatives, including personnel of the Nigerian Army, the police, local hunters and vigilante groups, have since launched coordinated operations in the area to rescue the victims and apprehend those responsible for the attack.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage, with many Nigerians expressing concern over the growing insecurity on the nation’s highways and describing the attack on a funeral procession as a disturbing indication of the worsening security situation.
