How We Escaped Death: Rescued NYSC Member Recounts Terrifying Ordeal in Kogi Kidnappers’ Den

In a stark and harrowing reminder of the persistent security vulnerabilities plaguing Nigeria’s interstate highways, a rescued National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, David Ayodele, has recounted the terrifying details of his abduction alongside 20 others. The victims, consisting of 15 corps members and six other transit passengers, were violently intercepted in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State while travelling from the Bayelsa State orientation camp to Abuja following their official relocation approvals.

Reconstructing the initial moments of the ambush, Ayodele described a scene of sheer panic. As the armed bandits emerged from the thick foliage flanking the highway, the driver of their commercial vehicle made a desperate attempt to maneuver and escape. However, the attackers quickly surrounded the vehicle, firing multiple rounds of ammunition into the air to assert dominance. At gunpoint, the disoriented occupants were ordered out of the vehicle and aggressively herded toward the dense forest canopy.

Once deep inside the rugged terrain, the captors subjected the victims to physical and psychological torture. According to Ayodele, the abductees were repeatedly flogged, kicked, and verbally abused as they were forced to trek deep into the wilderness. The kidnappers allegedly sought to break the spirits of the victims immediately, warning them that any movement without explicit permission would result in instant death by shooting.

Perhaps the most chilling aspect of the ordeal was the psychological warfare deployed by the criminal gang. Ayodele revealed that upon reaching a clearing in the bushy expanse, the captors explicitly threatened to hold the group hostage for a minimum of one month before executing them. This calculated threat left the young graduates and other travellers too terrified to attempt an escape, forcing them to endure long, exhausting hours of forced marches under constant threat of elimination.