The Nigerian military has rescued 21 kidnapped victims, including 15 members of the National Youth Service Corps, during a forest operation in Kogi State, as security forces intensify efforts to dismantle kidnapping networks operating along the state’s major routes.
The rescued victims, comprising eight males and 13 females, were freed from the Egume-Ochaja forest stretch in the area of operation of the Nigerian Army’s 2 Division, according to the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja.
Onoja announced the development on Monday, describing the rescue as another demonstration of the military’s determination to locate and safely recover citizens abducted by criminal groups.
“Twenty-one victims, comprising eight males and 13 females, 15 of them being National Youth Service Corps members, have just been rescued within the Egume and Ochaja forest stretch,” he said.
The rescue comes only days after 15 NYSC members were reportedly abducted in Kogi while travelling from their orientation programme in Bayelsa State towards Abuja.
The earlier attack occurred on August 26 along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area, where armed men reportedly emerged from the bush and intercepted two buses travelling in opposite directions.
According to the Kogi State Police Command, some passengers managed to escape into the surrounding bush, while others were taken hostage. Security operatives subsequently recovered the abandoned vehicles and launched a coordinated search operation in the surrounding forest.
The police had confirmed the rescue of 11 victims, including the drivers of the two buses, while efforts continued to locate other abducted persons. Most of those rescued were identified as NYSC members travelling from Bayelsa to Abuja.
The military’s latest announcement indicates that the rescue operation has subsequently secured the freedom of 21 people, including the 15 corps members.
The operation also underscores the importance of security forces’ ability to penetrate forest corridors that have increasingly become hideouts and transit routes for kidnappers operating in parts of Kogi.
Onoja said the military had continued to work with other security agencies and state institutions through intelligence sharing and coordinated operations to identify locations requiring intervention.
He also linked the Kogi rescue to wider military operations in the region, particularly efforts to deny terrorists and criminal groups freedom of movement around the Kainji Lake National Park and the Borgu axis.
According to the Defence spokesperson, the military’s recent rescue of 308 abducted persons, predominantly women and children, from the Kainji Lake National Park on August 5 demonstrated the security forces’ capacity to locate and recover victims held in difficult terrain.
The military said operations would continue in and around the Kainji Lake National Park and other identified criminal corridors in an effort to prevent further attacks and create conditions for displaced residents to return to their communities.
The development is significant for the NYSC programme, which routinely involves young Nigerians travelling long distances across the country for orientation camps and subsequent primary assignments.
The abduction of corps members has repeatedly generated concerns about the security of young Nigerians deployed away from their home states, particularly when they have to travel through areas affected by kidnapping and other forms of insecurity.
The Kogi incident has also renewed attention on security along highways and forest corridors in the state. Recent operations have resulted in the rescue of other kidnapping victims, demonstrating both the persistent threat and the increasing pressure being mounted on criminal groups.
While the latest rescue represents a major breakthrough, security agencies are still expected to pursue the kidnappers responsible for the abduction.
Onoja urged families of abducted persons to remain calm and avoid actions that could compromise rescue operations. He also stressed the importance of providing credible information to security agencies.
The Defence spokesman acknowledged the anxiety and uncertainty experienced by families whose relatives have been abducted, assuring them that the Armed Forces would continue working with other security agencies to rescue victims.
For the rescued NYSC members and their families, the operation brings an end to days of uncertainty following the attack on their journey to Abuja.
For security agencies, however, the operation marks another stage in the continuing battle to prevent criminal groups from exploiting Nigeria’s vast forests and highways.
The military has pledged to sustain operations in the affected areas, while intelligence-led interventions and cooperation between the Army, police, state authorities and local security networks are expected to remain central to efforts to prevent further abductions.
