The corpse of one of the abducted passengers along the Abuja-Lokoja highway has been found at a forest in Kyara village, a community in Kotonkarfe LGA, that borders Kogi State and the FCT.

Abuja Metro had reported that gunmen on Wednesday night ambushed an 18-seater commuter bus at Aseni village along the Abuja-Lokoja highway and whisked away the passengers into the bush.

A member of the vigilante group, Saidu Usman, said the victim’s corpse was found during a raid on the gunmen’s hideout by the vigilantes on Sunday.

He said the corpse, which had a bullet wound on the leg, was among the passengers abducted last Wednesday night from a bus conveying people from Abuja to the east.

“The corpse had a bullet wound on the leg, and it was discovered that the victim was among those passengers abducted from the bus by the gunmen on Wednesday,” he said.

Usman said he suspected that the gunmen shot the deceased on the leg while they were attempting to escape, and the victim was abandoned and bled to death.

According to him, the remains of the deceased have been evacuated to a morgue in the company of security operatives in Lokoja.

The vigilante member also disclosed that four of the abducted passengers were rescued during the raid.

He said the vigilantes, who mobilized into the forest, discovered the kidnappers’ hideout and engaged them in a fierce gun duel.

He added that some of the abducted victims were relocated during the exchange of fire with the gunmen.

“Upon sighting the vigilantes, they started shooting, but the vigilantes still summoned the courage to engage them, which led to the rescue of four victims. However, some of the gunmen quickly moved the remaining captives to another location during the exchange of fire,” he said.

He said the four rescued victims have been handed over to security operatives and taken to the hospital in Lokoja for medical attention, adding that the vigilantes were still combing the forest to trace where the remaining victims were relocated.

“As I speak to you, the vigilantes are still in the forest trying to trace where the remaining victims were relocated in order to rescue them,” he added.

A security source who preferred anonymity confirmed the discovery of the corpse of one of the abducted passengers and the rescue of four others through the combined efforts of security operatives and the vigilantes.

He said the security operatives and the vigilantes are still in the forest trying to locate the remaining victims in order to rescue them alive and reunite them with their families.

Calls placed to the spokesman of the Kogi State Police Command, ASP Williams Aya, on the rescue operation went unanswered. (Daily Trust)