Nigeria/Kogi – The killing of a Kogi APC chairman has once again highlighted growing insecurity on the state’s highways. Hon. Ishaq Yunusa, chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Dekina Local Government Area, was killed on Thursday evening.
Hon. Ishaq Yunusa was on his way back from Lokoja, the state capital, when he met his untimely death. The attack happened along the Itobe–Ochadamu Expressway, near Ojuwo Olijo in Ofu Local Government Area, at about 5pm.
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers emerged from the bush lining the highway and opened fire on passing motorists, forcing vehicles to a halt. Yunusa was travelling in a blue Toyota Corolla, registration number GWA 636 CH, when the assailants struck.
The vehicle was later found abandoned on the road. Police say the Kogi APC chairman was found unresponsive inside it, while another passenger in the car was dragged into the bush and taken away by the attackers.
He wasmoved to Grimard Hospital in Anyigba, where he was confirmed dead, his body is now waiting for an autopsy.
Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Afusat Saliu, confirmed the killing in a statement issued to journalists on Friday, describing how armed men attacked motorists along the corridor before fleeing with at least one victim.
The killing of the Kogi APC chairman has renewed concerns about persistent attacks along major roads in Dekina and Ofu local government areas.
This is not an isolated case. The Itobe–Ochadamu axis and nearby routes in Ofu and Dekina have recorded repeated ambushes this year alone, with passengers, students and even a corpse in transit for burial all targeted by gunmen operating from forest hideouts along the way.
Residents say the death of the Kogi APC chairman has deepened fears among travellers who rely on the route despite repeated security operations.
Just a day before Yunusa’s killing, on Wednesday, a separate abduction was recorded along the Aloma–Egane Expressway in the same local government area, where armed men blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions and made off with several passengers.
Security agencies have carried out joint operations in the area before, including clearance exercises involving the police, army and local vigilante groups, yet the attacks have continued.
The Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, CP Naziru Bello Kankarofi, has ordered sustained security operations along the affected corridor following the killing. He has directed officers to identify and arrest those responsible.
Investigators say the case involving the Kogi APC chairman remains a priority as security agencies intensify efforts to track down the attackers and locate the abducted passenger.
Saliu urged residents and motorists using the route to remain alert and report any suspicious movement to the police or other security agencies without delay. She added that further updates would follow as the investigation progresses.
For now, the search for the missing passenger continues in the forest bordering the expressway, an area that has become uncomfortably familiar to Kogi’s security operatives.
The killing of the Kogi APC chairman adds to growing unease within APC ranks, coming at a time when the party is also managing internal tensions ahead of the 2027 general election. Whether this latest attack pushes state and federal authorities toward a firmer, lasting response to highway banditry in the area remains to be seen.
