Breaking: Tension in Kogi as APC youth leader, wife abducted

• Armed men stormed a residential street in Dekina LGA at night, targeting a prominent APC youth figure and his wife
• A community leader revealed that kidnappers have shifted from roads to homes and farms after security pressure mounted
• The abduction follows a string of similar incidents in Kogi State, including one that ended in the death of a sitting councillor

Armed men have abducted Arome Adaji, an All Progressives Congress youth leader in Kogi State popularly known as Iron Gate, along with his wife, Justina, from their home in Abocho, Dekina Local Government Area.

The attack took place at approximately 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Gunmen descended on the couple's residence along Ajegwuna Road, opening fire and scattering neighbours before seizing the pair and departing unhindered.

Premium Times reported that a resident who gave his name as Ndamodu told Daily Trust that the couple were inside their home when the shooting erupted. He said neighbours only ventured out after the assailants had gone, at which point they discovered that Mr and Mrs Adaji had been taken.

Kogi community leader laments kidnapping

A community leader, Surveyor Eneogba, said the trend of targeting homes, farms and farm settlements across Kogi East had grown considerably. He attributed the shift to increased pressure on roads from security operatives, vigilante groups and local hunters, which he said had pushed armed gangs towards residential areas and agricultural communities instead.

The abduction is not an isolated event. In recent weeks, gunmen reportedly seized a woman and her four children as they made their way back from a burial ceremony in the same region. The family was freed only after a ransom was paid.

The incident also follows the reported kidnapping and subsequent death of Rosemary Adukwu, a councillor representing Ogugu Ward III in Olamaboro Local Government Area. Ms Adukwu was abducted on 30 September while travelling to Onitsha, with gunmen intercepting the commercial vehicle she was in near the Oji River axis, around the Enugu-Anambra boundary. Olamaboro Local Government Chairman Ameh Williams later confirmed that she had died while in captivity.

When contacted for a response regarding the abduction of Mr Adaji and his wife, the Kogi State Police Command spokesperson, Saliu Oyiza Afusat, replied only with the word "Noted," offering no further information.

APC LG chairman shot dead in Kogi

Legit.ng earlier reported that gunmen shot and killed APC Chairman Ishaq Yunusa along the Itobe-Ochadamu Expressway in Kogi State on Thursday.

Armed attackers emerged from the surrounding bush and opened fire on motorists at about 5 pm, leaving a vehicle abandoned on the highway.

Kogi State Police confirmed the attack and launched joint security operations to rescue the abducted victim and track down the assailants.

Source: Legit.ng