Tag: Kogi

Kogi Govt. confirms abduction of 24 from orphanage; 15 rescued

Aminu Imam
Kogi abduction

The Kogi state government has confirmed the abduction of 24 persons from an orphanage facility in the state, with 15 of the victims already rescued following a swift security response. In a statement issued yesterday, the State Commissioner for Information , disclosed that 23 of the abducted individuals were pupils, while the remaining victim was the wife of the orphanage proprietor. According to the government, the incident occurred late on April 26, 2026, when unknown gunmen stormed the facility identified as the Dahallukitab Group of Schools located in a remote…

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DSS captures suspected mastermind of ECWA church kidnap attack

Aminu Imam
DSS captures kidnap suspect

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have taken into custody Shafi’u Usman, who is alleged to have masterminded the December 14, 2015 assault on the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) in Aiyetoro, Kogi State, during which more than 20 worshippers were abducted. Security sources revealed that Usman was apprehended at a hideout in Gombe State, where he had reportedly been in hiding. During questioning, he allegedly admitted to orchestrating the Ayetoro church attack along with several other kidnapping operations across Niger, Kwara and Kogi states. According to…

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‘How ₦5.6bn Kogi LGA funds were diverted into companies’ accounts’ – Witness

Aminu Imam
Witness on Yahaya Bello

A compliance officer with Access Bank has continued his testimony on the alleged diversion of funds from Kogi State local government accounts in the ongoing trial of former governor of the state, Yahaya Bello. The witness, Olomotane Egoro, appeared before the court on Thursday, where he explained how funds allegedly belonging to Kogi local governments were traced to the accounts of Fazab Business Enterprise and E-Traders International Limited. Led in evidence by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Egoro told the court that on…

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Kogi: 37 church worshippers, including children, abducted 

Aminu Imam
Kogi church abduction

…Bandits demand ₦600m ransom Bandits who attacked two churches in Aiyetoro Kiri community, Kabba/Bunu local government area of Kogi State, have abducted no fewer than 37 worshippers, including children and elderly persons, and are demanding a ransom of ₦600 million for their release. The coordinated attacks occurred on Sunday, December 14, 2025, when gunmen stormed the First ECWA Church and the Apostolic Church during worship services, taking advantage of the peaceful gatherings. Community sources said the assailants contacted residents a day after the attack, on December 15, indicating their intention…

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Kogi: Bandits abduct 6 Defence ministry Directors enroute Abuja

Aminu Imam
Kogi bandits abduction

Panic has gripped the Federal Civil Service following the abduction of six Directors of the Federal Ministry of Defence by suspected gunmen along the Kabba–Lokoja highway. It was gathered that they were abducted on Monday, November 10, 2025. The senior officers, who were travelling from Lagos to Abuja for a Directorate-level promotion examination, were intercepted by the assailants, in what sources described as a well-coordinated ambush. The incident, which has sent shockwaves through the Defence Ministry and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, (ASCSN), has sparked renewed concerns…

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‘All set for Kogi Saturday by-election’ — INEC

Aminu Imam
INEC on Kogi

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that the preparation for the Saturday by-election in Dekina-Okura Constituency of Kogi State has been completed. Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Oliver Agundu, disclosed this in Lokoja on Tuesday, during an interview with newsmen. The by-election follows the death of former Deputy Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Enema Paul, on December 14, 2024, after a prolonged illness. Agundu, through INEC’s Education Officer, Haruna Halliru, said that the commission had held a meeting of Inter Agency Consultative Committee…

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Kogi Fulani leader raises alarm over threat, intimidation

Aminu Imam
IMG 20241221 WA0066

Following incessant security threats in Kogi State, the Sarkin Fulani (Ardo) of Yagba West, Kogi state, Babuga Mairali, has raised alarm over alleged intimidation and threat on his life by the authorities. Though it is no longer secret that some Fulani are involved in kidnappings in several states in the North, he said it would be wrong to single out their leaders and use them as scapegoats. According to Babuga Marali, even though the former Bauchi Governor, Isa Yuguda, had intervened by linking him with the Kogi Governor who mediated…

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Kogi Assembly calls for EFCC Chair, Olukoyede’s immediate sack

Aminu Imam
Kogi Assembly calls

…Alleges assassination attempt on Gov. Ododo, Yahaya Bello Kogi State House of Assembly has called for the immediate removal of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, over his unprofessional handling of the case against the immediate-past State governor , Yahaya Bello. The legislators, during plenary in Lokoja, the state capital, yesterday, condemned what they described as the EFCC operatives’ unprovoked attack on the Kogi State Government Lodge, saying it was an attack on the Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo, and the entirety…

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“I can’t imagine it’ – A’isha Yesufu scolds Gov. Ododo for stopping Yahaya Bello’s arrest

Aminu Imam
A'isha Yesufu

Popular activist, A’isha Yesufu, has expressed shock over the role played by Kogi State governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, in stopping the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), from arresting his predecessor, Yahaya Bello. Recall that Ododo, on Wednesday, obstructed the arrest of Bello by operatives of the EFCC. The EFCC operatives had stormed Bello’s residence in Abuja in an attempt to arrest him over an ongoing fraud investigation. But Bello was reportedly smuggled out of his residence by Ododo to evade arrest by the anti-graft agency. “I cannot imagine I,…

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Alleged Money Laundering: EFCC seizes $760,000 meant for Gov. Bello’s children’s school fees 

Aminu Imam

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), has seized a sum of $760,910.84 paid by Governor Yahaya Bello, of Kogi State, to the American International School, Abuja. The money was allegedly paid by the governor to American International School for his four children; however, the anti-graft agency seized the money, which was said to have constituted money laundering under Nigerian laws. Reports yesterday quoted some documents which indicated that Yahaya Bello’s nephew, Ali Bello, entered into agreement with the American International School in August, 2021, whereby the sum of $845,852.84…

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