Gunmen attacked a prayer session held at a remote mountain site in the Egbola area along Agbaja Road in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State, abducting an unspecified number of worshippers.
The incident occurred during a night vigil on Friday, April 11, local sources told Daily Trust.
The assailants reportedly stormed the prayer ground, firing sporadically into the air to create panic before forcefully taking several participants into the surrounding bush. In the aftermath of the attack, one of the abductees, a woman identified as Mary Adams Gure, was rescued by operatives of the Kogi State vigilante service.
Security sources said the vigilante team was swiftly mobilized to the scene after receiving information about the incident. A gun duel reportedly ensued between the attackers and the security team. Amid the chaos, Gure managed to escape and was safely recovered by the vigilantes.
“The vigilantes were mobilized quickly in response to the attack; and in the process, Gure was rescued,” said a source familiar with the operation. “She managed to escape and later found safety, thanks to the swift intervention of local vigilante members who were alerted and got to the scene of the incident on time.”
A search-and-rescue mission remains underway to locate and recover the remaining abducted worshippers. Authorities have not yet released an official figure of the victims taken during the attack.