Bandits kidnap 2 police officers investigating insecurity in Kogi
A Superintendent of Police, Francis Yisa, and Assistant Superintendent, John Kefas, have been reportedly kidnapped by armed bandits while traveling along the Abuja-Kogi highway.
A source disclosed that the two senior police intelligence officers were on an investigation mission in Kogi, where violent insurgents have claimed responsibility for killings and abductions in recent weeks when they were seized by bandits on August 23.
The source also said the police leadership has classified some information about the attack to avoid public outcry because of the present state of security in the country.
Lamenting the incident, a senior police chief who pleaded anonymity to avoid administrative backlash for unauthorised disclosure to reporters said that officers are now worried about the lives of their colleagues, adding that Inspector-General Usman Baba Alkali did not seem to appreciate the urgency of the matter.
“The IGP is only concerned about the matter getting to the public, we cannot wait until something worse happens to our colleagues before exposing this dangerous situation,” he said.
The officer said the assailants had reached out and are demanding N30 million ransom.
The development comes less than a month after 10 police officers were abducted in Kogi. They were on their way back to Nasarawa from an election assignment in Osun when the bandits struck on the highway, leaving them stranded for hours until they were rescued.
The Peoples Gazette Newspaper reports that the office of the IGP couldn’t be reached for comments on the incident as calls seeking more information were declined.