ABUJA — A 56-year-old woman who escaped from a notorious kidnapping ring after spending over a month in captivity has alleged that insider leaks from security personnel consistently tipped off armed bandits prior to aerial and ground operations in Kogi State forests.
The survivor, who regained her freedom alongside a 19-year-old female captive after a five-day trek through dense bushland, disclosed that criminal elements operating along the Obajana transit corridor enjoyed advance warnings whenever military and police raids were imminent.
“Whenever security men were coming with helicopters, somebody among the security people would call the bandits ahead of time. They would immediately switch off all their phones so they could not be tracked. They would gather all the cooking pots and other things we were using, hide them and relocate us to another place before the helicopter arrived.”
Mass Abduction & Ordeal in Captivity
- The Ambush: The victim was among over 30 passengers abducted on May 31 during an early-morning attack (around 2:00 a.m.) along the Obajana axis in Kogi State while traveling from Akure, Ondo State, to Abuja.
- Juvenile Guard Recruits: According to the survivor, the camp was manned by more than 100 heavily armed bandits, a significant portion of whom were teenagers and children under 20 years old who subjected hostages to regular physical abuse.
- Exorbitant Demands: The abductors demanded ₦4 million and a motorcycle per victim. Captives whose relatives managed to raise the monetary ransom without providing a motorcycle were routinely detained indefinitely.
The Escape & Serious Questions for Security Agencies
After spending 39 days in captivity, the survivor and her teenage companion managed to flee the camp unnoticed. The pair trekked through dangerous forest terrain for five consecutive days before emerging near the Dangote Cement facility, where industrial workers assisted them and alerted the police.
The survivor’s account raises critical security concerns regarding potential sabotage and internal moles within joint anti-kidnapping task forces operating in the North-Central region.
While security forces have conducted several clearing operations along major highways in Kogi, allegations of advance warnings and “fake bombardments” underscore ongoing structural challenges in neutralizing well-entrenched criminal networks in the state’s vast forest reserves.
