By Sunday Ogli, Makurdi
No fewer than 14 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, candidates travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, in a Benue Links bus have been reportedly kidnapped by suspected armed herders.
The incident took place between 7:00pm and 8:00pm on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, along the Benue Burnt Brinks in Otukpo, Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.
The assailants were said to have waylaid the bus and robbed the occupants of their valuables before whisking them away into the nearby bush.
As at the time of filing this report the management of Benue Links Nigeria Limited is yet to release any official statement to confirm the incident.
However, an eye witness, who spoke to journalists on phone in Makurdi but did not want his name mentioned in print, intimated that the Benue links bus, which was conveying about 18 passengers ran into the kidnappers at about 8 pm.
“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.
The Executive Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Council, Prince Maxwell Ogiri confirmed the incident, saying that it occurred between 7:00pm and 8:00pm yesterday (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.
When contacted, Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari confirmed that 14 passengers were kidnapped while one passenger escaped.
The Commissioner disclosed that he had already arrived in Otukpo conducting the rescue operation.
“I am in Otukpo now with all my team and DPOs who are here in the bush and 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 were 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 maintained.
