By Suleiman Abdulmumin
Gunmen disrupted a National Examinations Council (NECO) exam session in Kogi State on Tuesday afternoon, abducting the school principal, an exam official, and four students. The daring raid took place at approximately 5:25 p.m. at Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in the Dekina Local Government Area, just as candidates were writing their papers.
The spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, Salisu Oyiza, confirmed the incident in a statement on Wednesday.
“During the incident, four students, the school principal and one NECO ad hoc staff member were abducted by the attackers,” Ms. Oyiza said.
She added that a combined team of police officers and other security agencies immediately launched a search-and-rescue operation.
“So far, one of the abducted students has been rescued, while efforts are ongoing to secure the safe rescue of the remaining victims and apprehend the perpetrators,” she said.
According to the police spokesperson, the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Naziru Kankarofi, the Commander of the 12 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, and the state’s Security Adviser were heading to the community for an on-the-spot assessment.
She noted that the command would issue a detailed statement once more verified information becomes available.
This school raid comes just days after suspected kidnappers ambushed a funeral convoy along the Ochadamu-Ejule Road in the Ofu Local Government Area on July 9. In that incident, gunmen abducted nine mourners including two officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) who were accompanying the remains of Deputy Corps Commander Augustine Ikwue to his hometown in Benue State.
Reports indicate that the abductors later abandoned Mr. Ikwue’s corpse near Ejule while demanding a N450 million ransom for the release of the surviving victims. Following that attack, security operatives, including soldiers, vigilantes, and local hunters, launched a rescue operation.
This latest school abduction directly challenges the newly launched “Operation Handshake Patrol” a joint border-security initiative between Kogi and Benue states. Championed by Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue and local security chiefs, the cross-border patrol was designed to stop criminals from using state boundaries as escape routes, highlighting the steep uphill battle authorities still face in securing the region.