A fierce gun battle between bandits and security operatives erupted Monday afternoon on the notorious Oshokoshoko–Obajana highway in Kogi State, leaving dozens of commuters trapped in a nightmarish standoff that lasted hours.
In a scene straight out of a war zone, motorists abandoned their vehicles and scattered for cover as bullets flew, underscoring the relentless insecurity gripping Nigeria's North-Central corridor.
The confrontation unfolded around midday, transforming the busy artery—linking Kogi's mineral-rich Yagba West and Lokoja areas into a de facto kill zone.
Eyewitnesses described how a convoy of suspected bandits, riding motorcycles and armed with AK-47s, ambushed travelers in broad daylight, only to be met with heavy return fire from a joint team of police and military personnel.
"It was chaos, people screaming, cars piling up, and gunfire echoing like thunder," recounted one survivor who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.
A harrowing video circulating widely on X captured the desperation on the ground. Filmed by a trembling commuter huddled by the roadside, it shows lines of immobilized vehicles stretching into the distance, with passengers crouched behind tires or fleeing into nearby bushes.
The voiceover, laced with panic, pleads: "Nigeria, please come and save us here. We are in trouble. Everybody parked, nobody is moving. Kidnappers are taking over the road. Please, presently, we are here."
This latest assault is part of a surge in banditry plaguing the highway, which has earned a grim reputation as one of Nigeria's deadliest routes.
Just last Sunday, armed raiders stormed St. John's Anglican Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area, kidnapping the pastor, his wife, and several parishioners during evening service, a brazen act that left the community reeling.
Over the past week alone, at least three ambushes have been reported on the same stretch, claiming lives and abducting scores, including a group of miners returning from a quarry.
Kogi, once a relative bastion of peace amid Nigeria's spiraling bandit crisis, has become a hotspot since early 2025. Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, addressing the escalation last week, revealed intelligence that top bandit commanders had relocated operations to the state's forested enclaves from neighboring Niger and Zamfara.
"These criminals think they've found safe haven here, but I assure Kogites: our security forces will hunt them down relentlessly," Ododo declared during a state security council meeting.
He announced the deployment of additional drones and rapid-response units, but critics argue the measures fall short, pointing to chronic underfunding and intelligence gaps.
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