At least 16 travellers have been abducted by gunmen along the Utonkon–Okpoga Road in Benue State following an attack on a commercial bus conveying passengers from Oju and Obi Local Government Areas to the western part of the country.
The latest abduction occurred barely 24 hours after the kidnapping of nine people from a church in Utonkon community of Ado LGA.
Witnesses said the incident happened around 7pm on Monday along the road linking Ado and Okpokwu Local Government Area.
A witness, Comrade Jude Onwe, a youth leader in Utonkon community, said the incident occurred around 7pm when the bus, carrying 16 Igede-speaking passengers, was heading towards Okpoga in Okpokwu LGA.
Onwe noted that the passengers had departed Iheijwo Market in Oju LGA for various destinations in the western part of the country when they were intercepted by the gunmen after passing through the Utonkon–Ojapo/Okpoga axis in Ado LGA.
He said the attackers stopped the vehicle and forcefully took 15 passengers into the bush, adding that one person was shot dead when the driver initially refused to stop.
“The gunmen collected the passengers’ phones to prevent them from contacting their relatives,” Onwe said, noting that the abandoned bus was later moved to the Utonkon Police Station.
Confirming the incident, Chairman of Oju Local Government Area, Jackson Ominyi, said 16 persons were involved in the attack, out of whom two were killed while two others were rescued.
Ominyi explained that the rescue of the two victims was achieved through a joint effort with the chairman of Okpokwu LGA, adding that security agencies were still searching for the remaining 12 abducted passengers.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Udeme Edet, had yet to respond to calls and messages sent to her at the time of filing this report.
