The killing of a young man and the abduction of a woman in Ijekpe village, Ette community of Kogi State, has once again exposed the growing insecurity along Nigeria’s porous inter-state boundaries, particularly the Kogi–Enugu axis.
The attack, which occurred late Wednesday night, followed a now-familiar pattern: armed men emerging from forest routes, unleashing gunfire to paralyse residents, abducting a victim and disappearing before security forces could respond.
For residents of Ette and neighbouring settlements, the incident was not an isolated tragedy but part of a steady slide into fear. Community sources say kidnappings have become increasingly frequent in recent months, turning once-quiet agrarian villages into hunting grounds for criminal gangs.
An eyewitness, Simon Abu, said the assailants dominated the community for hours. “Gunshots were coming from different directions. We only realised in the morning that they had taken one woman and killed a young man in the process,” he said.
The Nigerian Army has since deployed troops to comb the surrounding forests in a joint operation with local security outfits. But residents insist that reactive deployments, coming after lives have been lost, are no longer enough.
They argue that the attackers exploit the dense forests and weak surveillance along the Kogi–Enugu boundary, slipping across state lines to evade arrest. According to locals, this has emboldened kidnappers who now operate with alarming confidence.
The Kogi East Neighbourhood Watch (KENW) confirmed a rise in kidnapping cases, noting that incidents recorded in recent weeks have surpassed those seen during the December festive period, traditionally a high-risk season.
Security concerns have been further compounded by reports from vigilante groups of increased movement of cattle herders into forests around Oforachi, Odolu and Igala-Ogba. While residents stress that herders are not inherently criminals, they warn that ungoverned forest spaces have become safe havens for armed groups.
A recent rescue of a woman travelling from the South-East to Kaduna — abandoned by kidnappers after troops gave chase — has offered brief reassurance. Yet many residents say such successes remain too few to reverse the growing sense of abandonment.
Community leaders are now urging the Kogi State Government to prioritise border security, calling for permanent security outposts, coordinated patrols with neighbouring states and improved intelligence-gathering in forest corridors.
They warn that unless decisive action is taken, rural communities will continue to pay the price — with lives lost, families torn apart and economic activity crippled — while criminals tighten their grip on Nigeria’s forgotten borderlands.
Kogi Border Communities Under Siege as Gunmen Kill Resident, Abduct Woman
