Bandits abduct corpse, mourners, demand N450m ransom

Armed men suspected to be kidnappers have reportedly abducted the remains of a late Deputy Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Augustine O. Ikwue, including the mourners accompanying him to his hometown at Otukpo in Benue State. The vehicle conveying the corpse ran into an ambush along the Ochadamu-Ejule road in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State around 6 pm on Thursday. The FRSC officer reportedly died in Osogbo, capital of Osun State, after a brief illness. The abductors have reportedly reached the family, demanding N450m for the victims to regain their freedom. The Kogi State Sector Commander of FRSC, Lawal Fagge, confirmed the incident, saying nine mourners, including two operatives of the commission, were abducted in the attack. He said the corpse was later abandoned around Ejule community, and has been handed over to the family for burial, while efforts are being intensified to rescue the kidnap victims. “We recovered the corpse of the officer in Ejule community on Friday after frantic searching, and handed it over to the family. He was buried on Saturday in his hometown of Otukpo in Benue. “The abductors used the cellphone of the deceased officer and called his wife, demanding a huge sum of money for those in their captivity to regain their freedom,” Fagge said. Security operatives, including the Army, police, hunters, and vigilantes, were said to have been mobilised to the area in an attempt to rescue the kidnap victims and possibly apprehend their assailants. Several people are raising concerns over the incident, stressing that the bandits have no respect for the dead.