The Police Command in Benue State has confirmed the abduction of 14 passengers, mainly Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) candidates en route from Makurdi to Otukpo Local Government Area of the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, confirmed the abduction to journalists on Thursday in Makurdi.
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Mr Emenari said the passengers travelling on a Benue Links bus were abducted Wednesday night.
The commissioner of police said he was in Otukpo and had mobilised a team of policemen in the area, including Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), in a bid to rescue the victims.
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He said out of the 14 passengers, one was able to escape.
“I’m in Otukpo now, with my team, and DPOs are here in the bush, and I am heading the operation.
“What happened was that a 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.
“We know that Benue Links has a policy that they don’t usually drive at night. So from what I got, they had already closed (for the day), but the driver, for reasons best known to him, still moved in the night.
“We are still trying to find out why he moved in the night and the passengers he picked up along the road.
“But as we are investigating, we are on the ground to make sure that the victims are rescued,” he promised.
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Insecurity has worsened in Benue State in the last few months, with villages and other communities coming under incessant attacks that claim dozens of lives and injure many others.
While kidnap-for-ransom and other forms of violence are rampant in the state, the more devastating attacks stem from herder-farmer conflicts and reprisals.
Many of such attacks have occurred in the state and the neighbouring Plateau State, both of which have experienced violent conflicts for decades.
(NAN)
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