Gunmen have abducted three female staff members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and several other passengers in Kogi State.
The victims were reportedly en route to Anambra State for pre-election assignments when the attack occurred.
The abducted INEC staff have been identified as Chinenye Oji, Adamaka Anih, and Catherine Temaugee.
They were traveling in a commercial Sienna bus from Utako, Abuja, on Tuesday morning when the incident happened near Aloma, a community in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, close to the Benue border.
According to a relative of one of the victims, the women were on official assignment to Anambra State ahead of the November 8 governorship election.
Their duties reportedly included printing the voters’ register and preparing other election materials.
The source said the gunmen ambushed the vehicle at about 3 p.m., shooting repeatedly and shattering the windscreen.
None of the passengers was hit, but the attackers forced the vehicle to stop and marched everyone into a nearby forest.
“They fired several gunshots, forced the car to halt, and took control of the passengers,” the source told PREMIUM TIMES.
“They later released an elderly woman who couldn’t walk due to a leg ailment and freed the driver to escort her back to town.”
The abductors are yet to make contact with the victims’ families, and their whereabouts remain unknown as of press time.
Security agencies have not issued any official statement on the incident. When contacted, William Aya, spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, said he had not received any briefing on the abduction.
“I haven’t gotten any information on that for now,” Aya said. “I’ll call the DPO in that area to confirm what actually happened.”
Attempts to reach INEC’s National Commissioner and spokesperson, Samuel Olumekun, were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages to his phone went unanswered.
The Aloma–Ajaokuta–Otukpo highway, where the abduction occurred, has become a notorious kidnapping route in recent months.
The area has witnessed several violent attacks and abductions despite repeated security deployments.
The latest incident has raised concerns about the safety of electoral officials and materials ahead of the Anambra off-cycle governorship election, as insecurity continues to threaten Nigeria’s democratic processes.
