14 Passengers, Including JAMB Candidates, Abducted by Gunmen in Benue

Suspected gunmen have abducted passengers, including candidates sitting for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, along the Makurdi-Otukpo road in Benue State.

The victims were travelling in a Benue Links bus from Makurdi to Otukpo when the vehicle was attacked on Wednesday night.

A source said the bus, carrying about 18 passengers, was intercepted near Otukpo around 8 pm by suspected bandits who took most of the occupants into the bush. The passengers were mainly young people heading to Otukpo to sit for the JAMB examination scheduled for Thursday. Two people  the driver and one passenger  managed to escape.

The Commissioner of Police in Benue State, Ifeanyi Emenari, confirmed that 14 passengers were abducted and that one victim escaped. He said he was in Otukpo coordinating the rescue operation alongside his team and divisional police officers.

Emenari added that the command had begun an investigation, noting that the Benue Links management has a policy against night travel, but the driver allegedly picked up passengers after official hours.

The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, also confirmed the incident, stating that security operatives had been deployed to the area. He said the victims were mainly young boys and girls coming to write the JAMB examination.

Passengers travelling along the Makurdi-Otukpo road have faced repeated attacks by gunmen in recent months.