A student identified as Onoja Joseph has recounted a harrowing escape from kidnappers who ambushed his bus along the Owo–Abuja highway in Kogi State.
Joseph was traveling to resume his industrial training (SIWES) when armed men attacked their 18-seater bus and forced all passengers into the forest at gunpoint.
He described being marched through dense bush for hours, crossing multiple streams as the kidnappers led them deeper into unfamiliar area.
“We crossed like seven rivers,” he said. “They kept leading us deeper inside the bush for about three hours.”
As evening approached, Joseph saw an opening. He quietly slipped away and hid in the bush until the kidnappers moved on, then began making his way out in search of help.
But what happened next was just as terrifying.
When he reached a nearby village and approached three men for assistance, they seemed helpful at first.
But after hearing his story, they began speaking in Kabba language and contacted the kidnappers, questioning how someone could have escaped.
Realizing they were working with his captors, Joseph asked to use the toilet and bolted again.
He even noticed the men’s wives clapping and celebrating as their husbands called the bandits.
Joseph eventually made it to safety and is now sharing his story as kidnapping incidents along the Kogi corridor continue to rise.
