About 17 candidates travelling to Otukpo for their examination centres in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) taking place on Saturday have been kidnapped.

They were abducted after the hoodlums attacked a commercial vehicle belonging to Benue Links, the state-owned transport company they were travelling with.

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 kidnappers 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.