(Benue Links bus. Photo Credit: Premium Times Nigeria)
Along the Makurdi-Otukpo road in Benue State, gunmen have kidnapped people, including applicants for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
On Wednesday night, the Benue Links bus carrying the victims was allegedly being driven from Makurdi to Otukpo.
Due to the delicate nature of the situation, a source who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed that about 8 p.m., suspected bandits stopped the bus carrying about eighteen people close to Otukpo and led the majority of them into the jungle.
The majority of the passengers, according to the source, were young people traveling to Otukpo to take the JAMB exam on Thursday.
He said, “Two people, the driver and one passenger, managed to escape. Incidentally, the passengers were mainly young men and women who travelled to sit for the JAMB examination scheduled for today (Thursday).”
However, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ifeanyi Emenari, said 14 passengers were abducted, adding that one victim escaped.
Emenari, who conducted a phone interview with PUNCH Online on Thursday, said he was in Otukpo coordinating the rescue operation. “I am in Otukpo now with all my team and DPOs who are here in the bush and am heading the operation.
He said, “One Benue Links bus carrying passengers to Otukpo was stopped and attacked by hoodlums, and 14 passengers were kidnapped, but one was able to escape.”
He continued by saying that the command has started looking into the incident, including the conditions of the trip. He claims that although night travel is prohibited per Benue Links management policy, the driver allegedly picked up passengers outside business hours.
The CP stated, “But we are on the ground to make sure that the victims are rescued while we are investigating.” Maxwell Ogiri, the chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, verified the occurrence and stated that security personnel had been sent to the location.
Ogiri said, “It is true, I’m just coming out from a security meeting, and security operatives have been moved into the forest to help rescue the kidnapped victims. “The victims are mainly young boys and girls coming to Otukpo to write JAMB.”
In recent months, gunmen have repeatedly attacked passengers on the Makurdi-Otukpo road.