Six senior directors kidnapped on Kabba-Lokoja road in Kogi
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria expressed profound dismay over the kidnapping of six senior female directors from the Ministry of Defence. The labor union described the abduction as a national embarrassment and a grave assault on the civil service. The victims, traveling from Lagos to Abuja for a promotion examination, were ambushed on the Kabba-Lokoja road in Kogi State and taken into a nearby forest.
President Shehu Mohammed and Secretary-General Joshua Apebo, in a joint statement, identified the kidnapped officials as Ngozi Ibeziakor, C.A. Emeribe, Helen C. Ezeakor, C.A. Ladoye, J.A. Onwuzurike, and Catherine O. Essien. All six women are posted to the Command Day Secondary School in Ojo, Lagos. The union confirmed it was collaborating with authorities, including the Ministry of Defence, which had deployed its security operatives to ensure a prompt and safe rescue.
The association used the incident to renew its long-standing demand for the Federal Civil Service Commission to decentralize promotion examinations. It warned that requiring civil servants to travel long distances to Abuja exposes them to unacceptable risks given the nation’s worsening security situation, urging for state-based examination centers to prevent further tragedies.
