15 NYSC members and six other kidnapped people rescued in Kogi, Tinubu says

Twenty-one people kidnapped in Nigeria’s Kogi State, including 15 National Youth Service Corps members, have been rescued from a forest, President Bola Tinubu said.

The group comprised eight men and 13 women. Tinubu said the victims were receiving medical attention before being reunited with their families.

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The well-coordinated Search and Rescue (SAR) operation carried out by a combined team of personnel of the military, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services, and local vigilantes safely rescued all twenty-one abductees.

The rescue followed a coordinated search operation involving the military, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services and local vigilantes. The abducted corps members had been travelling from the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Bayelsa State to Abuja after completing their orientation activities. They were believed to belong to the 2026 Batch B Stream II.

Tinubu said security forces remained on the trail of the kidnappers and that those responsible, along with anyone who assisted the crime, would face the law. He praised the rescue team and acknowledged the families’ ordeal while assuring relatives of corps members that his administration remained committed to their safety.

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Those responsible will face the full weight of the law, and our security agencies will pursue everyone who aided this crime.