Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has confirmed that some passengers abducted along the Makurdi–Otukpo road were candidates of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME),
The victims, who have now been released, were received by the governor at the Government House in Makurdi on Sunday, as seen in a video aired by Arise TV.
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Mr Alia confirmed that eight of the abducted victims were candidates travelling to write the examination while also appealing to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to make “special arrangements” for the affected candidates.
“I call on JAMB authorities to look into the case of the eight young students and reschedule dates for them to write their examination, and we are willing as a state to take care of the rest of it,” he said.
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He assured the students that the state ministry of education will also support their education.
Giving details on the abduction, the governor said 18 passengers were on board the Benue Links bus, with 15 abducted during the attack.
He said one victim escaped on the day of the incident and another the following morning, while the remaining were later rescued by security operatives.
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He added that many of the passengers were travelling to Otukpo, where some who are UTME candidates had planned to spend the night ahead of their examination.
Police arrest suspects
The Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command, Emenari Innocent, confirmed that seven suspects connected to the kidnapping in Otupko LGA have been arrested, with investigations ongoing to apprehend other accomplices.
Mr Innocent said the rescue followed coordinated operations involving multiple security agencies, including search efforts in forest.
Some of the rescued UTME victims also recounted their experiences in captivity.
One of them said, “We were fed with mangoes and tortured, and our parents should bring a ransom, which is about N10 million, but we put forth several complaints that our parents can’t afford it and we were beaten that such a comment should not be made.”
Another victim said, “It is not all of us that have the money to pay, but some of our colleagues paid. They gave us a thorough beating. Very heartless people. We thank God that about 2 a.m today, we were released.”
Initial denial
The State Police Command had earlier dismissed claims that some of the victims were UTME candidates.
However, its spokesperson, Udeme Edet, in a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, explained that the initial statement was issued because they did not know if JAMB candidates were actually among the abducted victims.
Ms Edet said the identities of the victims were not immediately known during the early stage of the investigation.
She explained that initial findings were based on those first rescued, who were not candidates.
“The people that were first rescued were not JAMB students. It was after others were rescued, that was when they were debriefed, and that was also when we found out that yes, some of them were actually JAMB candidates,” she said.
According to the police, the process of identifying the victims only became possible after they regained freedom and were questioned.
Ms Edet added that the initial confusion was compounded by the nature of the journey, noting that the passengers were not picked from a proper park as a group but were just passengers in a bus.
JAMB awaits confirmation
JAMB, which had also earlier denied that the victims were candidates, said its position was based on information provided by the Benue State police.
In a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, a source in the board said it has yet to receive official confirmation that any of the victims were candidates but would act accordingly once that is established.
Despite the uncertainty, the source said the board will take responsibility if the status of the candidates has been confirmed.
“The state doesn’t need to appeal to JAMB. If they are candidates, the board will certainly reschedule their exams. It is our responsibility to do the needful. We don’t need anybody to appeal to us before we do what we are supposed to do,” the source said.
The source added that the board is already considering its options pending official confirmation.
READ ALSO: Benue Abduction: JAMB, police, Alia give conflicting accounts on victims
Backstory
The abduction incident occurred on 15 April around 8 p.m. when gunmen attacked a commercial bus conveying passengers along the Makurdi–Otukpo axis, a route that has recorded repeated security incidents.
In a bid to rescue the victims, the police said a joint operation involving multiple security agencies led to the rescue of victims and the arrest of seven suspects, with ongoing efforts to apprehend others.
They also confirmed that search-and-rescue operations were concentrated in forest areas, including Amla Forest and surrounding locations.
Initial reports of the incident widely described the victims as UTME candidates traveling to Otukpo for their examinations scheduled for the next day, 16 April.
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