Gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, have abducted 14 passengers travelling in a Benue Links bus along the Makurdi–Otukpo road.
Among those taken were students heading to Otukpo to sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination.
Sources said the attack occurred at about 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
A local source explained that the bus was travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo when it came under attack.
“The Benue Links bus was conveying passengers from Makurdi to Otukpo around 8:00 p.m. when it was attacked by suspected herdsmen, who kidnapped the passengers. Only the driver and one other person managed to escape. The victims are mostly young men and women travelling for JAMB,” the source said.
The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, confirmed the incident, stating that it happened between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
“They are young people coming to Otukpo to write the JAMB examination,” he said, adding that security personnel had been deployed to rescue the victims.
The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, also confirmed the attack, noting that he had personally led officers to the area and that a rescue operation was underway.
“I am in Otukpo now. All my men are in the bush, and I am leading the operation,” he said.
Emenari explained that the vehicle was intercepted and attacked by armed men, leading to the abduction.
“Fourteen passengers were kidnapped, while one managed to escape,” he added.
He further stated that Benue Links does not usually operate at night, suggesting that the driver may have picked up passengers after official hours.
“Benue Links, as a policy, does not operate at night. From what we gathered, operations had closed, but the driver, for reasons best known to him, picked passengers along the road. That is how the incident occurred,” he said.
The police commissioner assured that investigations had begun and that efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the victims.
