Terrorist Kidnap UTME Candidates Along Makurdi–Otukpo Road in Benue State

Suspected terrorist have abducted a group of passengers, including young candidates travelling to sit the ongoing Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, along the Makurdi–Otukpo road in Benue State.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening, 15 April, when a Benue Links Nigeria Limited bus en route from Makurdi to Otukpo was ambushed at about 8 p.m. near its destination. According to sources, the vehicle was carrying approximately 18 passengers, many of them students heading to Otukpo for Thursday’s examination.

Witness accounts indicate that the attackers intercepted the bus and forced most of the occupants into the surrounding bush. In the chaos, the driver and one passenger reportedly managed to escape.

“The passengers were mainly young men and women travelling to sit for the JAMB examination,” a source familiar with the incident said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It is heartbreaking, considering the purpose of their journey.”

Confirming the attack, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, said 14 passengers had been abducted. He disclosed that he was personally leading a coordinated search operation in the area, alongside divisional police officers and other security personnel.

“I am currently in Otukpo with my team, and we are in the bush directing the operation,” he said. “A Benue Links bus carrying passengers into Otukpo was stopped by hoodlums, and 14 of them were taken. One person managed to escape.”

The commissioner added that preliminary investigations were underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the journey. He noted that Benue Links has a standing policy prohibiting night travel, suggesting the driver may have picked up passengers outside official operating hours.

Despite the challenges, Mr Emenari assured that efforts were ongoing to secure the safe return of the victims.

For families of the abducted passengers, many of whom had set out in hope of advancing their education, the incident has turned what should have been a milestone moment into a night of fear and uncertainty.