One of the rescued victims of kidnapping along the Ojuwo–Ajengo–Memarebo and Ojiwo–Itobe roads in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Joshua Daniel, has recounted how he bled through the night during the incident.

Daniel is one of the six victims who were rescued courtesy of the troops of the Nigerian Army, in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force, local vigilantes and hunters.

According to a statement signed by its Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Appolonia Anele, on Monday, the victims were abducted on Sunday, August 9, 2026, when armed criminals attacked commuters.

“During the operation, the joint security team established contact with the fleeing kidnappers and engaged them in a fierce firefight.

“Overwhelmed by the superior firepower and coordinated assault of the security forces, the criminals abandoned all their captives and escaped into the surrounding forest with gunshot wounds,” the statement said.

However, in his interview at the Kogi State Police Command on Tuesday, which was posted on the command’s X handle, Daniel narrated how he narrowly escaped death at the hands of one of the abductors.

“The incident happened after they (abductors) already had control over us. I saw a little space, then I decided to run. I ran into a nearby bush, then I fell. So, one of them who was chasing me brought a knife to cut my head. So I blocked it with one of my hands; that is when the cutlass landed here and cut my vein. So, I was bleeding throughout the night.

“But the bleeding stopped this morning when I got some herbs and put them on the wound before the bleeding stopped,” he said.

When asked whether the abductors were Fulani men, Daniel responded,

“Fulani, Kogi… one of them is named Peter. They spoke Igala, Fulani and Hausa,” noting that the use of the three languages was a decoy to prevent the captives from understanding the abductors’ line of communication.

He thanked the rescue team as he said they arrived on time, adding that there were no casualties among the captives.

He, however, commiserated with the family of a local hunter who participated in the operation but was killed during the encounter, while a police officer sustained injuries.

“Even when I had this cut on my hand, I helped in carrying the officer from where we were held captive to the main road where we entered the car. My hand was swelling,” Daniel said.

Another rescued victim who spoke on her experience, Ngozi Stephen, narrated how the abductors asked her to inform the other captives of their expected ransoms, being that she is fluent in Hausa.

The ransom ranged between N50 million and N100 million.

“So they told me, tell this person N50 million, tell this person N100 million, tell this person N70 million. That was how they were sharing it.

“So I would tell them, okay, this is what they said, this is the amount they said you should bring.

“Even me, they said N70 million. So even when I tried to plead and ask them to reduce it a little, they threatened to beat me up because they were beating people and all that,” she stated.

Stephen noted further that they (captives) were threatened to be sold off to ritualists if their ransoms weren’t paid.

She said, “At some point, they were even threatening that if we were not able to provide the money, they would just sell us to ritualists and all that,” the lady narrated.

She said the abductors fled immediately they heard gunshots from the security operatives, leaving behind the bag containing the phones and laptops they had collected from the victims.

“We were able to get back our phones. We were also able to get back the laptops. Thank God. We are now safe.”

The Army said all 16 victims were subsequently rescued, comprising six adult males, six adult females and four children.

It added that the rescued victims were undergoing documentation and medical assessment before being reunited with their families.

The Army commended the security personnel and local stakeholders involved in the operation, describing their efforts as a demonstration of the effectiveness of joint operations in tackling kidnapping and other violent crimes. It also urged residents to remain vigilant and continue providing security agencies with timely and credible information on suspicious activities.