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A late-night raid on an unregistered orphanage in Kogi state has left at least 23 children abducted, authorities said Monday, with security forces managing to rescue 15 while the search continues for the remaining eight.
The attack happened Sunday night at the Dahallukitab Group of Schools, a facility tucked away in an “isolated area” of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi state, according to Kingsley Fanwo, the state’s information commissioner.
Fanwo praised the “prompt and coordinated response” of security agencies for securing the release of 15 of the young hostages.
He added that the orphanage owner’s wife was also taken during the incident.
“Intensive operations are ongoing to secure the safe return of the remaining 8 victims and apprehend the perpetrators,” Fanwo said in a statement.
The commissioner did not provide details on the ages of the children involved.
He disclosed that the orphanage “was operating illegally in a remote, bushy environment without registration with the State Government and without the knowledge of relevant authorities and security agencies.”
Mass abductions have become a frequent tactic used by gangs and armed groups to generate quick cash across Nigeria, particularly in poorly policed rural regions.
The country is grappling with multiple security crises, including a long-standing jihadist insurgency, bandit gangs, farmer-herder clashes, and separatist violence in the southeast.
Kogi, located in north-central Nigeria, has witnessed several violent attacks in recent months, including school raids attributed by some to jihadist factions.
In a similar incident last November, gunmen seized hundreds of schoolchildren from a town in the neighbouring Niger state, an attack security sources linked to Boko Haram.
