Victims describe Fulfulde‑speaking captors and organized armed units, suggesting Fulani militia networks rather than Boko Haram insurgents.
By Onibiyo Segun
(Lokoja, Kogi State) – Fifteen passengers abducted on August 9 along Kogi State’s Itobe–Anyigba Highway were rescued after a gun battle, raising a critical question: who are the armed groups repeatedly attacking travelers and communities in the area?
Kogi State Police Commissioner Naziru Bello Kankarofi said “a joint operation involving police, military, DSS, NSCDC and vigilantes rescued the passengers, while several attackers were neutralized and others escaped.”
Survivors described armed captors carrying AK-47 rifles, moving victims through rural locations and speaking Fulfulde. Their accounts, supported by local testimony and security analysis, point most strongly toward Fulani Ethnic Militia terrorist (FEM)-linked kidnapping networks behind recent attacks.
Victims Describe Armed Captors
Victor Edozie Anyichie, one of the rescued passengers, told national media that the Peace Mass Transit bus was attacked between Ojuwo Ajengo and Mamerebo in Ofu County after a Toyota Yaris blocked their movement. “The boys started coming out from the bushes,” he said. More than six armed men emerged, led by a commander carrying an AK-47 rifle. “I will always recognise him. He was their leader,” Anyichie said.
He added that the kidnappers moved victims between locations and demanded different ransom amounts. “They were telling us, you, 100,000. You, 100 million. You, 17 million. You, 15 million. The children, 20 million,” Anyichie said.
Another rescued passenger, Chidera Emanuel, told TruthNigeria that the attackers’ appearance and conversations provided additional clues.
“Our abductors dressed in a particular style and spoke a foreign language among themselves that some identified as Fulfulde,” Emanuel said. Fulfulde is the Fulani language.
The description does not independently prove the attackers’ identity, but it adds to accounts from other residents who say they have encountered similar groups.
Previous Victim Reports Similar Pattern
Joel Attah, an Itobe trader whose brother was kidnapped earlier this year, said his family encountered a similar group.
His brother spent 22 days in captivity before the family paid ₦2 million (about $1,470) ransom for his release.
“My brother told us they are Fulanis. They kept him moving in the bush, just like these people did to the passengers on Sunday. They were organized, they had guns, and they knew the forest very well,” Attah said.
Vigilante Commander Reports Armed Groups
Mallam Haruna Sule, Commander of the Itobe Community Vigilante Group (volunteer community guards), said his men repeatedly confront armed groups along the Ajaokuta–Itobe–Anyigba route, including Fulani militia terrorists operating around Ajaokuta.
“This is not the first time we are facing these people. We have encountered Fulani militia terrorists operating around the Ajaokuta axis many times this year,” Sule said.
Sule said the groups operate in armed units of 10 to 20 with AK-47s, using motorcycles and vehicles to block travelers, while maintaining camps in forest areas between Ajaokuta, Adumu and the boundary with Benue.
“When we enter the bush, we see where they cook, where they keep people, and footpaths leading to different directions. They have informants in the villages,” Sule said.
Analyst: FEM Networks Most Likely
Dr. Adetoun Olusesan, a security analyst, said no single armed group controls Kogi’s kidnapping locations, but FEM-linked networks have been the biggest culprits in recent months.
“No one group controls all Kogi dens. Ansaru cells (linked to Al-Qaeda insurgency), local gangs, and transit terrorists all operate here, but FEM have been the biggest culprits in recent months,” Olusesan explained.
He said Ansaru operates through hidden networks in Kogi, while Boko Haram, ISWAP and Lakurawa remain separate organisations with different operational patterns.
Security reports have referred to eight suspected Ansaru cells in Kogi, particularly around the Obajana–Kabba areas, although the figure refers to alleged operational cells and not a confirmed number of terrorists.
Olusesan said the combination of victim descriptions, previous kidnapping patterns and local security accounts gives stronger support to the FEM-linked network theory than simply describing the attackers as ordinary criminals.
More Attacks Raise Concerns
Days after the August 9 incident, Nigerian Army troops rescued nine more commuters after another attack along the Ajaokuta–Itobe road.
The Army said troops pursued fleeing kidnappers toward Adumu Community in Dekina County and forced them to abandon their victims after an exchange of gunfire.
The attackers were not publicly identified.
The killing of Rev. Fr. Samuel Oyetoro along the broader Kogi axis has also increased concerns about armed networks operating in the state.
The priest’s murder has not been directly linked to the highway kidnappers, but it highlights the wider challenge of identifying armed groups operating in rural Kogi.
Evidence Points Toward FEM-Linked Networks
The available evidence points most strongly toward FEM-linked kidnapping networks as the likely drivers of recent highway attacks.
Survivor descriptions of Fulfulde-speaking captors, armed commanders, local knowledge and repeated encounters reported by vigilantes all support that assessment. However, the specific August 9 attackers have not been arrested or publicly identified.
The evidence suggests organized armed kidnapping networks are operating around Kogi highways, with FEM-linked groups appearing most likely among the actors, alongside other criminal and extremist cells.
The remaining question is who commands these networks, whether they operate independently or through wider alliances, and how far their operations extend across Kogi and neighbouring states.
Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflict for TruthNigeria.
