A 17-year-old secondary school student, Emmanuel Okonkwo, has regained his freedom after being abducted alongside 14 other passengers by armed bandits in Kogi State.

Okonkwo was travelling from Lagos to Abuja on Sunday, November 9, 2025, to prepare for his West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC) when gunmen attacked their Andyliz Transport Company bus near the Kabba axis of the state. All 15 passengers were seized and taken into the forest.

Family sources revealed that the kidnappers set individual ransom demands for each victim. Two passengers who were unable to continue the forced trek were killed immediately. The bandits reportedly have a “seven-day operational rule,” executing captives if ransom is not paid within a week.

Recounting his ordeal, Okonkwo described harsh conditions, saying the victims were fed only once daily with unsalted rice or beans and forced to drink dirty stream water. He also faced repeated threats to his life.

“On three occasions, they cocked their guns to shoot Emmanuel,” a family member said. “One of them chased him with a knife several times, nearly cutting his hand.”

Security operatives in Kogi advised the family early on to raise the ransom, warning that a rescue operation was unlikely. Initially, the abductors demanded ₦80 million, but later reduced the total ransom to ₦60 million for all victims, giving families seven days to comply.

The kidnappers imposed strict delivery rules: the ransom had to be divided into six bags of ₦10 million each in ₦1,000 notes and transported using the same bus that was attacked. One of the company’s drivers carried out the payment.

During the negotiation period, the victims were frequently moved across multiple locations, including Obeiba Ihima, Ikowa Road near Transformer Kabba, Okebuku-Bunu, and behind NTA Tower, Kabba-Ayetoro Road, Okegbo.

Following the ransom payment, Okonkwo and the surviving passengers were released. While families expressed relief, they renewed calls for the Federal Government to strengthen security along major highways in Kogi, which has increasingly become a hotspot for kidnappings.