A funeral procession conveying the remains of a senior Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officer to Benue State was thrown into chaos after suspected kidnappers attacked the convoy in Kogi State, abducting several mourners and briefly seizing the corpse before demanding a ₦50 million ransom.
The victims were travelling with the body of Deputy Corps Commander (DCC) Augustine O. Ikwue, popularly known as “Etume Zero,” for his burial in Otukpo, Benue State, when the gunmen struck along the Ososo-Ajaokuta axis of Kogi State.
The incident was disclosed by citizen journalist and activist Meddy Olotu, who said the armed men ambushed the funeral convoy, whisked away the mourners into the bush and also took the deceased officer’s corpse.
According to Olotu, the kidnappers later abandoned the corpse, which was subsequently recovered around Ejule in Kogi State.
He, however, revealed that the abductors are demanding ₦50 million to secure the release of the kidnapped mourners.
Describing the incident as shocking and heartbreaking, Olotu decried the worsening insecurity across the country.
“What kind of country are we living in? Even the dead cannot rest in peace,” he lamented.
He called on security agencies and other relevant authorities to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted victims and bring those behind the attack to justice.
The late Augustine O. Ikwue, a Deputy Corps Commander with the FRSC, was scheduled to be laid to rest on Friday in AiOde, Upu community, Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State before the attack disrupted the funeral procession.
As of the time of filing this report, security agencies had yet to issue an official statement on the incident or the status of efforts to rescue the abducted mourners.
