An unspecified number of residents have reportedly been kidnapped following a daring attack by suspected bandits on Omi-Ara community in the Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The assault, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, has thrown the community into panic, with residents describing the scene as chaotic and terrifying.
According to sources in the community, gunfire reverberated across the area during the raid, though the exact number of victims and their identities remained unknown at press time.
Although security agencies were said to have been notified, the Kogi State Police Command had yet to react to the incident.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP William Aya, neither answered repeated telephone calls nor responded to text messages sent to him as of the time of filing this report.
The Yagba axis has become notorious for kidnapping incidents in recent months.
During that period, two churches, a Cherubim and Seraphim church and an ECWA church, were raided, leading to the abduction of a pastor and his wife.
In a related incident on Sunday night, gunmen stormed the Odo-Ere community in the same local government area, abducting at least four persons.
The victims were identified as Shina Ajere, Kehinde Afolabi, Damilola Ogun, and a woman known in the locality as Iya Lara.
Community members have called on security agencies and the Kogi State Government to immediately deploy additional personnel to the area and intensify efforts to rescue the victims.