The night fell heavy on Kogi’s Anyigba–Itobe road on Thursday as gunmen turned a routine trip home into a killing field, cutting down the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Dekina Local Government Area, Alhaji Yunusa Onu Ishaq.
Ambush in the Bush
It was around 5:00pm on August 27, 2026 when the assailants struck.
According to sources and a police account, the gunmen emerged from the bush along the Itobe–Ochadamu Expressway, near Ojuwo Olijo in Ofu LGA, and opened sporadic fire at passing motorists.
Panic erupted. Ishaq, who had been returning to Dekina from Lokoja, reportedly tried to flee into a nearby bush. The gunmen caught up with him.
They left behind his blood-soaked body in a blue Toyota Corolla with registration GWA 636 CH, and sped off. Another occupant in the vehicle was dragged into the forest by the attackers and remains missing.
Travellers who came upon the scene raised the alarm, alerting authorities to the horror on the highway.
Police Move In, Body Evacuated
The Kogi State Police Command confirmed the attack hours later.
In a statement signed by Command Spokesperson ASP Salihu Afusat, police said Ishaq was found dead in his car, while joint teams with other security agencies had launched a bush-combing operation to rescue the abducted passenger and hunt down the killers.
“The deceased has been evacuated to Grimard Hospital, Anyigba, for autopsy, while the Command is pursuing all available leads,” the statement read.
The abandoned Corolla was also recovered as evidence.
A Community Mourns
News of Ishaq’s death has sent shockwaves through Dekina and across the APC in Kogi. Colleagues described him as a grassroots mobilizer who shuttled regularly between Lokoja and his base.
For now, the road that should have led him home has become the site of a crime scene, and a family, a party, and an entire LGA are left counting the cost of another violent attack in the state.
Security operatives say the manhunt is ongoing.
