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Six senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Defence were kidnapped along Kabba-Lokoja highway.
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Three youths were killed in Nasarawa amid renewed attacks on rural communities.
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ASCSN condemns abduction, urges decentralisation of promotion examinations.
Panic has spread across the Federal Civil Service following the abduction of six Directors from the Federal Ministry of Defence by armed bandits along the Kabba-Lokoja highway on November 10, 2025.
The victims — Mrs. Ngozi Ibeziakor, Mrs. C. Emeribe, Mrs. Helen Ezeakor, Mrs. C. Ladoye, Mrs. J. Onwuzurike, and Mrs. Catherine Essien — were reportedly ambushed while travelling from Lagos to Abuja for a Directorate-level promotion examination.
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Sources told Vanguard that the bandits operated in a well-coordinated attack, forcing the convoy to a halt before whisking away the senior officials into the nearby bush. The abduction has heightened fears among civil servants who frequently travel long distances for official duties.
In a statement signed by the President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Mohammed, and the Secretary-General, Joshua Apebo, the union condemned the attack and assured that efforts were underway to rescue the victims.
“We have always advised the Federal Civil Service Commission to conduct promotion examinations in the states instead of compelling public servants to travel long distances to Abuja. The current security situation and deplorable roads expose workers to grave risks,”
the statement read in part.
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In a statement signed by the ASCSN President and Secretary-General, the association confirmed that the Defence Ministry had mobilised its security operatives, who are now combing suspected hideouts around Kogi State in search of the abducted directors.
Meanwhile, reports from Nasarawa State indicated that three Migil youths were killed on Gidan-Raid Road, Keana Local Government Area, after being ambushed by bandits while delivering news of an elder’s death to a neighbouring community.
Two other youths were reportedly shot dead days earlier at Sarkin Noma, while one remains in captivity. The recent wave of attacks has deepened fear among residents, who have appealed to world leaders to intervene in Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
Eyewitnesses at the mass burial of the victims in Duduguru described the killings as senseless and lamented the failure of government protection. Some residents even called on foreign intervention to “end the bloodshed ravaging Nasarawa communities.”
Security agencies have yet to make any arrests in connection with either the abduction of the Defence officials or the killings in Nasarawa.
