Gunmen Abduct UTME Candidates, Others in Benue Road Attack

Gunmen Abduct UTME Candidates, Others in Benue Road Attack

Armed men suspected to be bandits have abducted passengers, including candidates sitting for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), in an attack along the Makurdi–Otukpo highway in Benue State.

The victims were travelling in a Benue Links Transport Company bus from Makurdi to Otukpo on Wednesday night when the vehicle was intercepted around 8pm by armed men who forced the passengers into nearby bush paths.

Security and local sources said the bus was carrying about 18 passengers, most of them young Nigerians heading to Otukpo for the JAMB examination scheduled for Thursday.

One source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the incident, said only the driver and one passenger managed to escape during the attack, while the rest were taken away.

“Most of them were youths travelling for their JAMB exams. The gunmen stopped the bus and marched them into the bush. Only two people escaped,” the source said.

The Benue State Police Command later confirmed the incident but gave a slightly lower figure.

The Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, said 14 passengers were abducted, while one victim escaped. He added that a coordinated search-and-rescue operation had already commenced in the area.

“I am currently in Otukpo with my team and divisional police officers. We are combing the surrounding forests for the rescue of the abducted victims,” he said in a telephone interview.

The police chief also disclosed that preliminary findings suggested the bus was operating beyond approved travel hours, noting that the transport company discourages night journeys. He said investigations were ongoing to establish the exact circumstances that led to the attack.

The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, confirmed that security operatives had been deployed to the forests surrounding the area. He said a security meeting had been convened immediately after the incident was reported.

“It is true. Security agencies have been mobilised and are already in the bush working to rescue the victims. They are mostly young boys and girls coming to sit for JAMB,” he said.

The attack adds to a growing list of violent incidents along the Makurdi–Otukpo corridor, which has become a frequent target for armed groups in recent months, raising renewed concerns over safety on major routes in the state.

Source: PUNCH