Benue: Driver Arrested Over Abduction Of 13 UTME Candidates, Others

The management of Benue Links Nigeria Limited, state owned transport company has confirmed the arrest of its driver who drove night bus that led to the abduction of 13 passengers including Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination ((UTME) candidates along Makurdi-Otukpo road on Wednesday.

A statement issued by the Benue Links Nigeria Limited’s Information Officer, Johnson Ehi Daniel, and a copy made available to LEADERSHIP said the driver who was driving the affected bus was presently in police custody and investigations were ongoing to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

The statement said the incident which occurred on Wednesday night at the Ikobi area, where an 18-seater bus was conveying passengers was attacked by armed men, leading to the abduction of 15 persons.

The company said two of the abducted passengers later escaped, leaving thirteen still unaccounted for, adding that efforts were ongoing in collaboration with security agencies to ensure their safe rescue.

The management explained that the passengers were mostly UTME candidates scheduled to sit for the examination the following day.

The management, however, stressed that the trip was not authorised, noting that it violated its operational guidelines, which prohibit night journeys beyond 6pm due to prevailing security concerns on some routes in the state.

According to the statement, the driver acted without approval, removed the vehicle from the company’s premises, picked up passengers, and embarked on the journey without clearance or documentation.

It added that the trip was not recorded in official logs, making it difficult to immediately account for all those on board.

The general manager of Benue Links Nigeria Limited, Alexander Aondohemba Fanafa, expressed deep concern over the development, describing it as unfortunate and distressing.

Fanafa sympathised with the families of the victims and assured that the company was working closely with security agencies to secure the release of those still missing.

Benue Links reiterated its commitment to passenger safety and pledged stricter enforcement of its operational policies to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.

Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, had on Thursday said he was leading the operation in the bush in Otukpo with all his team and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) to rescue the remaining thirteen kidnapped passengers.