*Photo:Halima Imam*
The echo of late October 2025 haunts the Nigerian North Central: a taxi driver, his father, and all their fellow passengers, vanished near Itobe, dragged from their vehicle and swallowed by the bush. Their crime? Simply driving on a public road in Kogi State.
The ransom? A crushing two million naira demanded for each soul, a price tag on freedom that could bankrupt entire families. This singular event, while horrific, is merely a fresh wound in a landscape already scarred. Just months prior, in February 2025, a newly wedded couple celebrating the first two weeks of their life together were abducted at Ikanepko, Ankpa Local Government, with their captors demanding a staggering 6 million naira.
The list of victims stretches, horribly and anonymously, suggesting that in Kogi, life itself has become a high-value commodity for criminal enterprise
Nigeria is confronting a severe, systemic failure of security that has metastasized into a pervasive national crisis.
The state’s monopoly on violence is being aggressively challenged by terrorist groups, bandits, and sophisticated kidnapping syndicates exploiting a volatile mix of widespread poverty, soaring youth unemployment, and the deep-seated pursuit of illicit wealth. This breakdown has created an environment where the kidnapping-for-ransom industry flourishes, turning vast swathes of the country into no-go zones. Public faith has eroded, replaced by a grim resignation that the security apparatus is either overwhelmed or deeply compromised. This national affliction provides the perfect cover and context for the localized terror experienced in Kogi.
Kogi State, a geographically pivotal nexus connecting Nigeria’s North and South, has become the tragic centerpiece of this crisis. The state’s extensive network of federal highways, the very arteries of Nigerian commerce, are now the hunting grounds for criminal gangs. Hotspots like Ajaokuta, Okene, and the area immediately following Itobe are synonymous with terror.
What began as a crime targeting wealthy individuals has tragically descended into a widespread terror affecting the ordinary citizen—the market woman, the taxi driver, the newly married couple. The state’s dense forests and rugged terrains provide ideal hideouts, enabling kidnappers to operate with chilling efficiency, knowing that pursuit across these difficult landscapes is a slow, often fatal endeavor for security forces. The increasing audacity, with ransom demands now creeping into the tens of millions of naira, signals a chilling belief in impunity.
To the administration of Kogi State, we must address the fundamental contract: the preservation of life and property. The silent screams of those held captive, the anguish of families scrambling to liquidate assets to meet criminal demands, represent a profound moral injury to the State. A government’s worth is measured not just in infrastructure projects, but in the peace and security it affords its people. The current reality is a damning indictment. We are appealing to your conscience, your oath of office, and your humanity: the people of Kogi State are not expendable statistics. The time for mere rhetoric is over.
To permanently dismantle this reign of terror, the Kogi State Government must implement a holistic strategy that is aggressive, intelligent, and focused on systemic reform.
First, the State must make a massive, immediate investment in Intelligent Surveillance Technology. This means deploying modern, sophisticated drone technology for consistent aerial monitoring of known flashpoints and vast forest reserves, particularly along the routes leading into and out of Ajaokuta and Okene. This shifts the dynamic, providing security forces with the real-time, actionable intelligence needed to preempt ambushes and successfully track and neutralize criminal hideouts, moving the advantage away from the bandits.
There must be a genuine Empowerment and Professionalization of Local Vigilante Forces. These community defenders, who possess an unparalleled knowledge of the terrain and local criminal networks, must be formally reorganized, rigorously trained, and adequately compensated. Making them an accountable and well-resourced extension of the security architecture not only improves operational efficiency but also instills local ownership in the fight against crime.
The government must aggressively target the Criminal Supply Chain. Kidnappers are sustained by local collaborators providing food, fuel, and vital logistics. A zero-tolerance campaign must be launched, leading to swift, highly visible arrests and severe prosecution of anyone found aiding and abetting these gangs, including local vendors and informants. Severing this lifeline will force the gangs out of their deep-forest sanctuaries and into the open.
The State must prioritize Border and Immigrant Registration Control. Given Kogi’s position as a cross-country transit point, it is imperative to implement stringent systems for the profiling and documentation of non-indigenous populations, particularly those engaging in transient trades like mining, logging, and long-distance hauling. This effort aims to filter out the mobile, non-Kogi based criminal elements who often cross state lines to commit atrocities.
And most crucially, the government must address the Socio-Economic Root Causes. Kidnapping thrives on despair and joblessness. By launching targeted, well-funded youth employment and skills acquisition programs focused on communities most vulnerable to recruitment—such as those around the Ankpa and Okene areas—the State can offer a visible, viable economic alternative to crime. This lessens the pool of potential recruits and dismantles the ideological underpinnings of banditry, offering hope and opportunity as the ultimate deterrent.
The people of Kogi State deserve to travel their roads and sleep in their homes without the shadow of fear and the burden of ransom. The mandate to end this terror lies squarely with the government, and the time for decisive action, for the sake of humanity and conscience, is now.