Gunmen Abduct 14 Passengers Including JAMB Candidates in Benue

Gunmen abducted 14 passengers, including several candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, from a bus along the Makurdi-Otukpo road in Benue State on Wednesday night. The attack occurred around 8 p.m. near Otukpo, as the vehicle carried young travelers heading to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board exam scheduled for Thursday.

The victims were aboard a Benue Links transport bus traveling from Makurdi, the state capital, to Otukpo with approximately 18 passengers, mostly young men and women. Eyewitness accounts indicate that armed attackers stopped the bus on the highway and forced most occupants into a nearby forest. The driver and one passenger escaped during the chaos, alerting authorities shortly after.

Benue State Police Commissioner Ifeanyi Emenari confirmed the abduction and is personally overseeing the rescue operation in Otukpo. "What happened was that one Benue Links bus carrying passengers coming to Otukpo was stopped and attacked by hoodlums and 14 passengers were kidnapped but one was able to escape," Emenari said. He noted that security teams, including divisional police officers, have been deployed into the surrounding bush to search...