Gunmen kidnap UTME candidates, other travellers on Benue highway

Several passengers, including candidates travelling for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), were abducted by gunmen along the Makurdi–Otukpo highway in Benue State.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night when a Benue Links bus carrying travellers from Makurdi to Otukpo was reportedly ambushed by armed men near Otukpo at about 8 pm.

Sources said the bus had about 18 passengers on board, most of them young people heading to Otukpo to sit for their Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination scheduled for Thursday.

According to an eyewitness account, the attackers intercepted the vehicle and forced most of the passengers into the bush.

The source disclosed that the driver and one passenger managed to escape from the scene.

“Most of those in the bus were students travelling to write their JAMB exam today. Only the driver and one passenger escaped,” the source said.

Confirming the attack, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, said 14 passengers were taken away by the assailants, while one victim escaped.

The police commissioner said he had personally moved to Otukpo with tactical teams and divisional police officers to coordinate rescue efforts in the area.

He explained that the command had launched an operation deep into the surrounding forest in search of the kidnapped victims.

Emenari also revealed that preliminary findings suggested the journey may have violated the transport company’s no-night-travel policy, as the driver was alleged to have picked up passengers outside approved operating hours.

Despite this, he assured that the police were focused on securing the safe release of all those abducted.

The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, also confirmed the development, saying security personnel had already been deployed into the forest to support the rescue mission.

He noted that the victims were largely young boys and girls travelling to the town for the UTME.

The Makurdi–Otukpo road has in recent months remained a major security concern, with repeated cases of attacks and kidnappings reported by commuters.