Armed men suspected to be kidnappers ambushed a funeral convoy in Kogi State, abducting the remains of a late Deputy Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Augustine O. Ikwue, along with nine mourners travelling to his hometown in Benue State.

The incident occurred at about 6 p.m. on Thursday along the Ochadamu–Ejule Road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, as the convoy conveying the deceased officer's body to Otukpo for burial came under attack.

Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Lawal Fagge, said the abductors seized nine mourners, including two FRSC personnel, during the attack.

Fagge disclosed that the kidnappers later abandoned the corpse around Ejule community, where it was recovered on Friday after an intensive search and handed over to the deceased's family for burial.

"We recovered the corpse of the officer in Ejule community on Friday after frantic searching and handed it over to the family.

"He was buried on Saturday in his hometown at Otukpo in Benue State," the sector commander said.

According to him, the abductors used the deceased officer's mobile phone to contact his wife and demanded a huge ransom for the release of those being held captive.

He added that security agencies had intensified efforts to rescue the victims, with personnel of the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, local hunters and vigilante groups deployed to the area to comb nearby forests and track down the kidnappers.

The attack has sparked widespread concern, with many residents describing it as a disturbing indication of the worsening security situation and lamenting what they described as the assailants' disregard for the sanctity of the dead.

pAs of the time of filing this report, the kidnapped mourners had yet to be rescued, while security operatives continued efforts to secure their safe release and apprehend those responsible for the attack.