According to source, “The Benue link bus conveying 18 passengers, mostly young men and women, left Makurdi en route Otukpo but their vehicle was intercepted near Otukpo around 8 pm yesterday by suspected bandits and whisked them into the bush.
“Two people, the driver and one passenger, managed to escape. Incidentally, the passengers were mainly young men and women who travelled to sit for JAMB examination scheduled for today (Thursday).
However, the chairman of Otukpo LGA, Maxwell Ogiri, who confirmed the abduction of the passengers, said that security operatives have been deployed to the forest to rescue the victims.
Ogiri said, “It is true, am just coming out from 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.
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.
