Agony persists as 2 defence directors still in kidnappers’ den 21 days after

…ASCSN says 4 others freed after abduction on promotion exam trip

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Twenty-one days after six Directors of the Federal Ministry of Defence were abducted on their way to Abuja for promotion examinations, two of the victims remain in captivity, leaving families and colleagues in deep distress.

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, has raised fresh concerns over their safety, even as it confirmed that four of the kidnapped officials have regained freedom.

The Directors, all staff of the Command Day Secondary School, CDSS, Ojo, Lagos, were seized on the Kabba–Lokoja highway on November 10, 2025, in what labour leaders described as a shocking attack on civil servants carrying out official duties.

While security operatives successfully rescued four of them, efforts to locate and free the remaining two continue.

As tension mounts, ASCSN has urged the Ministry of Defence and Nigeria’s security agencies to intensify rescue operations and ensure the safe return of the missing officials, insisting that the ordeal has dragged on for far too long.

A statement by ASCSN’s President and Secretary General, Shehu Mohammed and Joshua Apebo, respectively in Abuja, recalled that

“The six Directors, who are members of the Association serving at the Command Day Secondary School, CDSS, Ojo, Lagos, were kidnapped on 10th November 2025 on Kaba-Lokoja highway while travelling to Abuja to sit for promotion exams and while four of them have been rescued, the remaining two are yet to regain their freedom.”

The Association listed those that have regained their freedom and currently undergoing medical evaluation as Mrs. Helen Ezeakor C., Mrs. Ladoye C. A., Mrs. Ngozi Ibeziakor, and Mrs. Essien Catherine O. The two still missing are Mrs. Emeribe C. A. and Mrs. Onwuzurike J. A.

ASCSN leadership also renewed its longstanding call on the Federal Government to decentralize examination and verification exercises for public service workers, arguing that the constant need to travel long distances exposes employees to avoidable security risks.

ASCSN commended President Bola Tinubu for ongoing efforts to curb insecurity nationwide but stressed that incidents like this highlight the urgent need for strengthened interventions to protect citizens on the nation’s highways.

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