By Parrot Newspaper 
Terror in Yagba Kogi State: Gunmen Abduct Elderly Leader, Three Others in Third Attack Within a Week
Tears are flowing once again in Yagba West as the peaceful agrarian community of Okoloke woke up to yet another horror—its third in just seven days. In the stillness of early Tuesday morning, the thunder of gunfire shattered the calm as unknown gunmen stormed the village, snatching four residents, including a respected elder whose frail years should have guaranteed him peace, not pain.
Pa Ezekiel Durojaiye, a retired teacher and revered community leader from nearby Okunran village, was forcefully taken from his home. Neighbours say the invaders broke in with terrifying precision, brandishing weapons and barking commands. Pa Durojaiye, now in his twilight years, was seized alongside three others and dragged into the darkness of the surrounding forest. No trace has been found of them since.
“It was like a nightmare,” said one shaken resident, his voice trembling. “They came in quietly, then all hell broke loose. We couldn’t stop them. They had guns, and they didn’t care who they hurt.”
The incident has left the community reeling, gripped by a paralyzing fear that no one is safe—not elders, not kings, not even those who stand watch.
Just days earlier, the village’s 90-year-old traditional ruler, Oba James Dada Ogunyamda, was abducted in a similarly brazen attack. His captors, cold and calculating, initially demanded N100 million in ransom—a price tag on a life that cannot be measured. The sum was later reduced to N50 million, but the family is struggling to raise even a fraction of it, turning to the government and kind-hearted Nigerians for help.
Only days after the monarch’s abduction, two vigilante members and another resident were taken, bringing the total number of kidnapped victims in Yagba West to eight in just one harrowing week.
The land, once known for its farming and warmth, is now haunted by the echoes of gunfire and the silence of those taken.
Despite repeated assurances from local government chairman Tosin Olokun and the Kogi State Police Command, there is still no good news—no rescue, no arrests, no peace.
Terror in Yagba Kogi State
Hope is wearing thin in Yagba West, and as each night falls, families cling to each other, whispering prayers that the next knock at the door will not be from men who carry death in their shadows.