Gunmen abduct principal, four students writing NECO exam in Kogi

A school principal, four students, and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member have been abducted by gunmen in Kogi State, Nigeria. The incident took place on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, around 5:25 p.m., at Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in the Dekina Local Government Area, while students were participating in the ongoing NECO examinations.

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During the incident, four students, the school principal and one NECO ad hoc staff member were abducted by the attackers.

The Kogi State Police Command confirmed the abductions in a statement issued Wednesday by its spokesperson, ASP Salisu Oyiza. "During the incident, four students, the school principal and one NECO ad hoc staff member were abducted by the attackers," the statement read. A combined team of police and other security agencies immediately initiated a search-and-rescue operation and is actively pursuing the assailants.

So far, one of the abducted students has been rescued. The police stated that efforts are continuing to secure the safe release of the remaining victims and to apprehend those responsible for the kidnapping. The Commissioner of Police for Kogi State Command, Naziru Kankarofi, along with the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, were reportedly en route to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.

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A combined team of the police and other security agencies immediately launched a search-and-rescue operation and is currently on the trail of the assailants.

In a separate, though related, incident reported by The PUNCH on Tuesday, the Command confirmed the abduction of a corpse. The deceased was identified as Augustine Ikwue, a Federal Road Safety Corps official who died in Lokoja and was being transported to Otukpo, Benue State, for burial. ASP Oyiza confirmed that the corpse had been recovered and placed at the Elemona Mortuary in Ejule. The incident occurred on July 9, 2026, when armed individuals attacked a Hummer bus carrying the casket along the Ochadamu-Ejule Expressway, abducting the occupants into the bush. Police, military, and community policing members mobilized for a rescue operation, recovering the abandoned vehicle and casket.

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The Command confirms that an abduction incident occurred on 9 July 2026 along the Ochadamu-Ejule Expressway when armed hoodlums attacked a Hummer bus conveying a corpse from Lokoja towards the eastern part of the country and abducted the occupants into the bush.