By joshua Kogi Vigilantes Rescue Seven Kidnapped Victims in Okene Forest, Foil Kidnap Attempt in Zariagi
Operatives of the Kogi State Vigilante Service, KSVS, have rescued seven kidnapped victims from a kidnappers’ den in Owere Forest and foiled a separate kidnapping attempt in Zariagi, in two coordinated operations on October 18, 2026.
In a press release issued on Monday by the Service’s Public Relations Officer, Idris S. Idris, the KSVS said its Okene Command, acting on actionable intelligence and in collaboration with local hunters, launched a rescue operation in Owere Forest.
According to the statement, the kidnappers, who were holding seven victims hostage, engaged the operatives in a gun duel on sighting them. Overpowered by the superior firepower of the KSVS operatives, the kidnappers abandoned their victims and fled into the forest with bullet wounds.
“The rescue operation led to the successful release of seven victims from the kidnappers’ den,” the statement said.
In a related development, at about 2:12 a.m. on the same day, operatives of the KSVS Zariagi Sub-Command foiled an attempt to kidnap a resident of the Deeper Life Camp, Zariagi-Kabba Junction. The operatives, responding swiftly to a distress call, engaged the suspected kidnappers in a gun duel, forcing them to abandon their mission.
Commending the operatives, the Comptroller-General of the Kogi State Vigilante Service, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Anataku, heaped encomiums on the gallant officers for the successful operations and urged them to sustain the momentum.
The Comptroller-General also expressed profound appreciation to the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, for his unflinching support and encouragement to the Service.
He further solicited the cooperation of members of the public to continue to provide timely and actionable intelligence information to security agencies to rid the state of criminal elements.