By Sunday Ogli, Makurdi
Tyo-Mu community in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State on Tuesday protested over abduction of 18 women on their way to attend a burial in Kogi State.
The angry protesters predominantly women and youths in their thousands barricaded the ever-busy Makurdi-Gboko Road around Tyo-Mu area, chanting war songs and demanding for the immediate release of their kidnapped family members.
The protest, which started in the early hours of the day, obstructed all vehicular movement, thereby leaving hundreds of commuters stranded for so many hours.
Our correspondent gathered that the problem began after 18 women from Tyo-Mu Community were travelling to attend a burial ceremony in Kogi State were waylaid and kidnapped by suspected kidnappers along the boundary between Adoka community in Benue State and Ankpa community in Kogi State.
Community sources told journalists in Makurdi on Tuesday that the abductors initially demanded a ransom of N30 million for the release of the women.
The sources further said that the people of Tyomu, who are predominantly farmers, responded by raising the sum of N3 million, which was paid to the kidnappers, but the abductors failed to release their victims.
The development triggered outrage in the community, leading to the protest where all roads blocked and no vehicle was allowed to pass through the barricaded areas of Tyo-Mu community.
Meanwhile the Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Internal Security, Joseph Har confirmed the kidnapping of the women, whom he said were actually Kidnapped on their way to attend a burial in Kogi State.
“I got the report of the kidnapping incident, but I am yet to know the exact number of people involved.
“First of all, travelling to Kogi State at night is a concern, people should not be travelling to Kogi State in the night especially when everybody is aware of how dangerous the situation along that route is. So, this is not correct, we shouldn’t be putting people under pressure.
“Secondly, the incident actually happened. As I speak to you now, I have reported it to the relevant security agencies who are also working on it.
“We located the place, the DPO of Adoka in Otukpo local government area and the security guards in surrounding areas are working tirelessly to see how they can get to the location”, Har said.
He lamented that the worst thing about kidnapping is that the location from which the kidnappers make their calls is usually different from where the victims are actually being kept, stressing that it is not as straightforward as people may think.
“It is therefore a challenge for security agencies to navigate and identify the exact location. It is not as easy as people think. You cannot just storm a location because, if there is collateral damage, if you want to chase the people the way they want us to chase them, while trying to rescue the victims, you may end up hurting them.
“That is why we are always careful when handling these matters. We are working on this particular case, and I do not hide information from the families of the victims. I keep them informed about how far we have gone, where we are and what the next steps are. However, I understand that the families later went to the road and started blocking it”, he maintained.
The Benue State commissioner for information and orientation, Solomon Iorpev, equally confirmed the incidence, saying government is on top of the situation.
According to him, the people from the community of Tyo-Mu, after Air Force Base are protesting after some women hired Ejifa Travel Services to transport them for a burial in Kogi State
