The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of a school principal, a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member and four students after suspected gunmen attacked Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area during the ongoing NECO examination.
The attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, while candidates were writing their examination, throwing the school into panic.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Salisu Oyiza, said the assailants stormed the school and whisked away the victims.
“During the incident, four students, the school principal and one NECO ad hoc staff member were abducted by the attackers,” the statement said.
She disclosed that a joint security operation involving the police and other security agencies was immediately launched to rescue the victims and track down the kidnappers.
According to her, one of the abducted students has already been rescued, while efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims.
“A combined team of the police and other security agencies immediately launched a search-and-rescue operation and is currently on the trail of the assailants. So far, one of the abducted students has been rescued, while efforts are ongoing to secure the safe rescue of the remaining victims and apprehend the perpetrators,” Oyiza stated.
The police spokesperson added that the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Naziru Kankarofi, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, was on the way to the community for an on-the-spot assessment of the attack.
She said the Command would provide more details as investigations progress.
Meanwhile, the Command has also confirmed the recovery of a corpse that was abducted by suspected bandits during an attack on a commercial bus along the Ochadamu-Ejule Expressway.
The corpse belonged to an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Augustine Ikwue, who died in Lokoja and was being transported to Otukpo, Benue State, for burial when the attackers struck on July 9.
Confirming the incident, Oyiza said armed hoodlums intercepted the Hummer bus conveying the deceased and other passengers, abducting the occupants into the bush.
She said police operatives, working with the military, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria and community policing personnel, launched a coordinated rescue operation immediately after receiving the distress report.
According to her, the abandoned vehicle and the casket were recovered, while the corpse was evacuated to the Elemona Mortuary in Ejule.
She added that efforts were ongoing to rescue the kidnapped passengers and arrest those responsible for the attack.
The two incidents have heightened security concerns in parts of Kogi State, with authorities assuring residents that security agencies remain committed to rescuing all abducted victims and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The incident is the latest in a series of security breaches targeting schools in Kogi State in recent times
The Daily Crucible reports that on a particular Wednesday in June this year, suspected launched a deadly attack on Iluke-Bunu Community in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, killing three persons during an attempted abduction of students writing the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Residents said at the time that the heavily armed attackers, numbering about 40 and who rode on motorcycles, stormed the community around 10:00 a.m. dressed in military uniforms. The assailants fired sporadically before heading to Government Secondary School, Iluke, where students were taking the examination.
The gunmen also disrupted the examination and attempted to force some students into the bush before security operatives intervened.
The Kogi State Police Command confirmed the attack and said it received a distress call that armed bandits had invaded the school and surrounding community with the intention of abducting students and residents.
.
