A 17 year old secondary school student, Emmanuel Okonkwo, has been released after enduring several days in the custody of armed bandits who kidnapped him and 14 other passengers in Kogi State. The victims were travelling from Lagos to Abuja when their bus was intercepted in what has become a worrying trend along major highways in the state.
According to Vanguard News on Thursday, 20 November 2025, Emmanuel was on his way to Abuja on Sunday, 9 November, to prepare for his upcoming West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WAEC, when the attack happened. The bus, operated by Andyliz Transport Company, was ambushed around the Kabba axis, an area that has recorded multiple cases of highway abductions in recent months.
The 15 passengers were forced into the forest and held under tense and unsafe conditions. Families told reporters that the abductors demanded separate ransom payments for each hostage, issuing strict seven day deadlines which they claimed formed part of their operational pattern. Victims were given limited food and water, and Emmanuel later recounted several instances where he felt his life was in danger.
Security officials reportedly informed the families that conducting a rescue mission would be difficult due to the terrain and the kidnappers movements across multiple locations. This left the families with little option but to negotiate directly with the captors.
The abductors initially demanded 80 million naira for the collective release of all passengers. After negotiations, the amount was reduced to 60 million naira. The kidnappers insisted that the money be delivered in six separate bags of 10 million naira each and transported by a single driver using the same company bus that the victims had been travelling in.
During their captivity, Emmanuel and the other hostages were moved repeatedly to avoid detection. Locations mentioned by family members include Obeiba Ihima, Ikowa Road near Transformer in Kabba, Okebuku Bunu, and an area behind the NTA Tower on the Kabba Ayetoro Road in Okegbo. The uncertainty and frequent relocations added to the trauma experienced by the victims.
After the ransom was finally paid, Emmanuel and the remaining passengers were released and reunited with their families. Relatives expressed immense relief but also deep frustration over the growing insecurity that has made interstate travel increasingly dangerous.
Advocacy groups and residents in Kogi State have once again called on the Federal Government to strengthen security along major transport routes, particularly the Kabba area, which has become a hotspot for kidnapping. They urged the authorities to increase surveillance, deploy more personnel, and improve intelligence gathering to prevent future attacks.
As Emmanuel recovers from the ordeal, his family expressed hope that he can still proceed with his WAEC preparations. They appealed to government officials to take urgent steps to prevent similar incidents from affecting other Nigerian students and travellers.
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