By Amos Aar
SOME yet to be identified gunmen on Sunday attacked a Benue Links commercial bus, abducted several passengers along the Eke-Ugbokolo axis of the Otukpo-Enugu highway in Okpokwu LGA of Benue State.
The bus, with registration number 14B-143BN, was reportedly ambushed around 6:30pm. by gunmen who emerged from the bush and blocked the road.
Eyewitnesses say the assailants forcibly stopped the vehicle, robbed the passengers of their belongings, and led them into the surrounding forest at gunpoint.
The number of abducted victims remains unclear as of the time of filing this report, but sources on the ground say the vehicle was fully loaded with passengers when the incident occurred.
One of the first responders at the scene was Comrade Austin Agada, factional chairman of the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who happened to be travelling past shortly after the attack and immediately alerted security operatives and mobilised both soldiers and police officers to the location.
Agada also reportedly reached out to local youth leaders and vigilante groups from surrounding communities near Eke to join in the search and rescue efforts.
Their intervention was aimed at containing the situation before the kidnappers could relocate the victims deeper into the bush.
Eyewitnesses said a coordinated response was promptly initiated, with security personnel arriving at the crime scene to assess the situation and begin combing the area.
The details of the attacked vehicle and the nature of the emergency were also shared with officials of Benue Links Transport Company.
Confirming the incident in a statement to journalists early Monday morning, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Edet Udeme, said tactical units of the police, the Nigerian military, and the Benue State Community Volunteer Guards were swiftly deployed.
“We are investigating a suspected kidnapping case involving a Hummer bus with registration number 14B-143BN, which was found parked along the Ugbokolo axis,” the police spokesperson said.
She further disclosed that, following an intensive search operation, one of the abducted passengers, identified as Paul Terna, managed to escape from the kidnappers and was rescued by the security operatives.
“The police tactical teams, in collaboration with the military and the state’s protection guards, responded promptly to the distress call and commenced a bush combing operation. So far, one victim has been rescued, and additional reinforcements have been deployed to intensify the search for the remaining victims,” Edet added.
She also assured the public that the state command is doing everything within its capacity to ensure the safe rescue of the remaining passengers and to apprehend those behind the crime.
Benue Links, the state-owned transport company, is yet to issue an official statement as of the time of this report.
The attack has reignited public concerns about the worsening state of insecurity on Benue highways, especially in rural corridors notorious for ambushes and kidnapping.
Several stakeholders, including community leaders and civil society groups, have repeatedly called on the federal and state governments to strengthen highway patrols and deploy surveillance equipment to deter criminal activities.
