A pastor of the Christian Evangelical Fellowship of Nigeria (CEFN) Church in Itobe, Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, has been abducted alongside a fellow church member.
Pastor Friday Adehi and Gabriel Ezekiel were seized on Sunday afternoon while travelling home on a motorcycle after attending a naming ceremony in Ojodu. The pair were ambushed along the Ajegwu–Ojodu Road by gunmen who forced them into the bush at gunpoint.
“The incident happened between 3 and 4pm,” an eyewitness told Vanguard. “The kidnappers suddenly burst onto the road, stopped them, and marched them into the forest.”
Local vigilantes and a military joint task force are said to be combing the area, though residents note that previous community-led efforts to clear bushes along the highway have done little to deter such attacks.
In response, members of CEFN and other churches have begun prayers and fasting for the safe release of the abducted men.
The apex Igala socio-cultural bodies — the Igala Cultural and Development Association (ICDA) and Ukomu Igala — condemned the incident and urged the Kogi State government to deploy drone surveillance to track kidnappers operating from forest hideouts.
They argued that the technology would help the security task force to mount more effective operations against armed groups who continue to lay siege to highways in the region.
