Suspected Terrorists Kills Bus Driver, Abduct 18 Sokoto Health College Students Travelling to Oyo

Suspected terrorists have abducted about 18 students of Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto State, who were travelling to their home towns in Oyo State, SaharaReporters has learnt. The incident reportedly occurred within the past 48 hours along the route to Oyo State, with the driver of the bus allegedly killed at the scene.
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A youth leader from Oke-Ogun, who confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters during an exclusive interview, said the victims were not students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS), as earlier reported.

According to him, the students were travelling in a chartered bus from Gamji College of Health Technology in Sokoto to Oke-Ogun, particularly Igboho in Oyo State.

“Sadly, the unfortunate incident is being confirmed by me because I’m from Oke-Ogun too, and our people have confirmed that it truly happened in the past 48 hours.

“But it wasn’t a bus conveying UDUS students. It was a bus taking students from Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto, to Oke-Ogun, Igboho to be precise.

“The driver was killed and all the students were kidnapped. They have reached the Mokwa side,” the youth leader said. Other sources familiar with the incident told SaharaReporters that the number of abducted students could be as many as 18.

The sources said the students were travelling in a chartered bus arranged by their school to convey them to their respective home towns in Oyo State. They were reportedly all taken away by the assailants after the driver was killed.

The reported movement of the abducted students towards the Mokwa axis has raised concerns among residents and relatives of the victims, as the area has previously witnessed attacks and abductions along major roads.

The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom when gunmen reportedly attacked their two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, on Thursday.

Isiah Akpan, the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, said the abductors had demanded N50 million for each victim, putting the total ransom at N950 million.

Reacting in a post on X, human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, said the incident reinforced his longstanding position that the NYSC had “outlived its usefulness in its present form.”

Terrorists Attack

“You cannot force young Nigerians to ‘serve their fatherland’ when the same country cannot guarantee their safety while they travel to their places of service,” he wrote.

Sowore called for the immediate suspension of the scheme and its eventual abolition, proposing that corps members should, in the interim, be allowed to serve within their states of origin.
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Many Feared Dead as Helicopter Crashes in Ondo Community

Many persons are feared dead after a helicopter crashed in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
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The incident, which occurred on Monday, October 5, 2026, threw the coastal community into panic, with residents scampering for safety.

Details surrounding the crash remained sketchy as of the time of filing this report.

It was yet unclear how many persons were aboard the helicopter, while the condition of possible survivors could not be immediately ascertained.

Sources in the community told SaharaReporters that efforts were underway to access the crash site and determine the extent of casualties and circumstances that led to the crash.

“Yes, it’s true. A helicopter just crashed now at Igbokoda, Ondo state,” a resident told SaharaReporters.

Ondo State Police Command spokesperson Abayomi Jimoh told SaharaReporters he was unaware of the incident but would make inquiries.

Helicopters crash

Igbokoda is a riverine community and commercial hub of Ilaje, one of the oil-rich areas of Ondo State, where helicopters are frequently used for oil and gas logistics operations.

Nigeria has recorded a series of helicopter crashes in recent years, many involving oil workers and military aircraft, raising fresh concerns over aviation safety and regulatory compliance.
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Gunmen Attack Vehicle Carrying Traders From Plateau Livestock Market, Seven Injured

The Plateau State Police Command has confirmed that unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying passengers near the Total Roundabout in Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area, an incident in which seven passengers were reportedly shot.
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The command’s spokesperson, DSP Alfred Alabo, confirmed the attack when contacted by SaharaReporters, but declined to provide further details.

In a statement released by the state police command on Monday, it condemned the attack, which it said targeted traders returning from Kara Market in Bukuru.

The statement, signed by Alabo, partly read, “The Plateau State Police Command has received with deep concern the report of a shooting incident that occurred on 4th October, 2026 at about 04:30 pm along Bukuru Expressway, Jos South LGA.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that the vehicle targeted was conveying traders returning from Kara Market, Bukuru, Jos. Seven injured victims have so far been traced to the Military Clinic, Rukuba Barracks, Jos, where they are receiving medical attention.”

According to sources, the attack occurred on Sunday as the passengers were travelling in an open-body Boxer vehicle from the Kara Bukuru Livestock Market to Rafin Bauna village in Bassa Local Government Area.

The driver and a survivor, identified as Murtala Isa Ibrahim, said seven of the 20 passengers aboard the vehicle were affected in the shooting.

Some reports have also indicated that one person had already died among the victims.

The victims were taken to Rukuba Barracks Hospital for medical attention. Their conditions had not been established as of the time of filing the report, and no death had been confirmed. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remained unclear.

The incident is the latest in a series of reported attacks on herders and other travellers returning from the Kara Bukuru Livestock Market.

In a related development, a pastoralist association in Plateau condemned a reported attack on Fulani herders around the Federal Low-Cost area of Bukuru and called on security agencies to investigate and apprehend those responsible.

The association recalled that five Fulani herders were reportedly killed around Kassa in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area on September 20 while returning from the same livestock market.

It also cited an earlier attack near the Conoil Filling Station in December 2025 involving herders returning from the market.

The recurring incidents have raised concerns about the safety of pastoralists and traders who depend on the livestock market for their livelihoods.

The Plateau State chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ibrahim Babayo, also confirmed the attack and condemned it.

He called on security agencies to investigate the incident and apprehend those responsible.

Gunmen

Mr Babayo urged the police, Operation Safe Haven, the Department of State Services and other security agencies to strengthen security along the Kara Bukuru market route and prevent further attacks on traders and herders.

The association also appealed to community members to remain calm and refrain from retaliatory violence, stressing the need for justice and equal protection for all residents, regardless of ethnicity or occupation.
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