About 17 candidates travelling to Otukpo for their examination centres in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are feared to have been abducted, although the exact number of victims remains unclear.
According to Channel Television report, the incident took place between 7–8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, along the Benue Burnt Bricks in Otukpo, Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State.
According to sources, the assailants waylaid the bus and robbed the occupants of their belongings before whisking them away into the bush.
An eyewitness, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, said the Benue Links bus, which was conveying about 18 passengers, ran into the gunmen at about 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night.
“The passengers were mainly young persons heading to Otukpo to sit for the JAMB examination scheduled for Thursday.
“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),” he said.
When contacted, the General Manager of Benue Links, Mr Alexander Fanafa, confirmed the incident, noting that the driver of the bus is presently undergoing interrogation at the police station in Otukpo for violating the company’s safety policy not to travel beyond 6:00 p.m.
He said, “As I speak with you, the driver has been arrested and is under investigation for traveling against company directive. I have warned all drivers to stop night journeys, as they would be held as first suspects if anything unfortunate happens.”
The General Manager further stated that the driver took his vehicle and loaded the passengers who were heading to Otukpo after official hours when the park manager, Mr Amedu, had closed, and ran into trouble, so he has been arrested.
The Executive Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Council, Prince Maxwell Ogiri, confirmed the incident, saying that it occurred between 7 and 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
He added that security agents have been mobilized to rescue the victims, stating that the victims are all young people coming to Otukpo to write JAMB examinations.
“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,” Ogiri said.
However, when contacted, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, confirmed the situation, but said 14 passengers were kidnapped, while one passenger escaped.
The commissioner disclosed that he had already arrived in Otukpo and is conducting the rescue operation.
“I am in Otukpo now with all my team and DPOs who are here in the bush, and I am heading the operation.
“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,” he said.
According to him, the command had commenced an investigation into the incident, particularly the circumstances surrounding the journey.
He maintained that Benue Links management has a policy against night travel, but the driver allegedly picked up passengers after official hours.
“We know that Benue Links has a policy and don’t usually drive at night. So from what I got, they have already closed, but the driver, for reasons best known to him which we are still trying to find out, picked passengers along the road, and when he came here, the story you have is what we are having.
“But as we are investigating, we are on the ground to make sure that the victims are rescued,” Emenari said.
Five abducted in Kwara
Also on Wednesday, gunmen numbering about ten, with sporadic gunshots, stormed Odo-Ore in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State and abducted five residents of the sleepy town.
It was gathered that there is no police station or any security outfit in the community to resist the attack by the terrorists.
Tension has since pervaded Odo-Ore as a result of the development, being the first time terrorists would attack the community.
It was reliably gathered that the terrorists went straight to the residence of one Alhaji Yusuf Yunusa, a prominent politician and school proprietor, around 11 p.m.
They reportedly forced their way through the gate, then broke the main door of the building, entered one of the rooms, and took him away at gunpoint.
The victim, who also has a private school in Lagos, arrived Odo-Ore on Wednesday morning and was kidnapped while reportedly preparing to sleep.
Four other victims were reportedly abducted by the terrorists while on their way out of the community. They are said to be Hausa men working as farmers in Odo-Ore.
A local who preferred that her name should not be mentioned attributed the abduction of the proprietor to informants in Odo-Ore.
“The attack on Alhaji Yusuf can be attributed to the handiwork of informants, because they went straight to his residence to abduct him.
“He was preparing to sleep around 11 p.m. when they forced their way through his gate, broke the main door of his house, and took him away,” she said.
A senior police officer at Owu-Isin headquarters of Isin Local Government confirmed the development.
The Kwara State Police Command was yet to respond to the development.
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