APC youth leader, wife abducted in Kogi

An All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leader in Kogi State, Arome Adaji, and his wife, Justina, have been kidnapped from their residence in Abocho, Dekina Local Government Area.

The incident reportedly occurred around 8 p.m. on Wednesday when armed men stormed the couple’s residence along Ajegwuna Road, shooting and forcing neighbours to flee.

A resident, who identified himself as Ndamodu, said Mr Adaji, also known as Iron Gate, and his wife were at home when gunshots rang out around their residence, Daily Trust reported.

“The sound of gunshots scared residents from coming out, as no one wanted to be caught in either crossfire or stray bullets,” he said.

According to him, residents came out after the attackers had left and discovered that the couple had been taken away.

A community leader, Surveyor Eneogba, said kidnappers had increasingly targeted homes, farms and farm settlements in communities across Kogi East.

He said security operatives, vigilantes and local hunters had intensified surveillance along roads, forcing armed groups to shift their activities to residential areas and farms.

“For weeks now, the armed hoodlums have scaled down activities on roads, focusing on residences and farms or farm settlements where they are abducting people at an alarming rate,” he said.

The latest abduction comes amid reports of other kidnapping incidents in the area.

A few weeks ago, armed men reportedly abducted a woman and her four children as they returned from a burial ceremony.

The victims were later released after a ransom was paid, according to accounts from the community.

The abduction also comes weeks after the reported kidnapping and death of Rosemary Adukwu, a councillor representing Ogugu Ward III in Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Ms Adukwu was reportedly abducted on 30 September while travelling to Onitsha, with gunmen intercepting the commercial vehicle in which she was travelling around the Oji River axis, near the Enugu-Anambra boundary.

Olamaboro Local Government Chairman Ameh Williams later announced that she had died while in captivity.

Her death and the latest abduction have heightened concerns about the safety of residents and travellers in parts of Kogi State.

When contacted for comment on the abduction of Mr Adaji and his wife, the spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, Saliu Oyiza Afusat, responded, “Noted.” She did not provide further details.