A young man, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, was killed by gunmen during an abduction in Ijekpe village, Ette community, Ogugu district of Kogi State.
The incident reportedly occurred around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night when the gunmen stormed the village.
An eyewitness, Simon Abu, said the attackers held the entire community hostage, firing shots from multiple directions.
“It was early this morning that we discovered the gunshots were those of the kidnappers. They succeeded in abducting one woman, and in the process, a bullet hit one member of the community, who died instantly,” he said.
According to The Guardian, men of the Nigerian Army have been deployed and are currently combing the forests in a joint operation with local security forces.
Community sources said the Etteh community and surrounding areas along the Kogi-Enugu boundary have been increasingly affected by kidnappings in recent times.
Residents appealed to the Kogi State government to increase security efforts along the boundary areas, similar to measures implemented in other parts of the state.
Meanwhile, the Kogi East Neighbourhood Watch stated that kidnapping incidents have surged compared to December last year.
A few days ago, troops successfully rescued a woman travelling from the East to Kaduna after pursuing kidnappers, forcing them to abandon their victim.
Local vigilantes have also raised concerns over the influx of cattle breeders entering Oforachi, Odolu, and Igala-Ogba forests, which they say has worsened security challenges.
Residents have been advised to avoid night journeys, citing the difficulty of search and rescue operations under poor visibility conditions.
