Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) have rescued the 13 passengers abducted from a Benue Links commercial bus along the Makurdi–Otukpo road.
According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, the victims were among 17 passengers kidnapped last Wednesday while travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo in Benue.
Three of the victims had earlier escaped from captivity.
Zagazola quoted security sources as saying the rescue mission was achieved on Sunday during a sustained search-and-rescue operation in a forest in Okete ward, Ohimini LGA of the state.
Some students travelling for the 2026 unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) were reportedly part of the abducted victims.
“Security sources further clarified that the perpetrators were local criminal elements in Benue and not Fulani bandits as initially speculated in some quarters. The attack was however, hastily attributed to external groups without proper verification,” the publication said.
Those rescued include Hycent Oko (56), Elaiguli Joshua (25), Orili Raphael (29), Sunday Augustine (18), Emmanuel Elaicha (21), Gbile Nguyor Daniel (18), Ukacha Tersoo (18), Nyikwagh Aoridakator (22), Iornav Ngukuhan (18), Nyikwagh Benjamin (18), Buker Agatha (19), Paul Wende (29) and Akor Jessica (19).
“The operation was carried out professionally, leading to the safe recovery of 13 victims. Preliminary findings indicate that the perpetrators are criminal elements from within the state and not external armed groups as widely speculated,” the publication quoted security sources as saying.
Zagazola added that the victims were immediately evacuated to the General Hospital in Otukpo, where they are currently receiving medical attention, noting that some of them sustained varying degrees of injuries during their captivity.
“Further checks revealed that eight of the rescued passengers were students en route to sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations at the time they were abducted, a development that underscores the disruptive impact of criminal activities on education and civil life,” the publication said.
However, both the Benue state police command and JAMB have denied that any of the abducted passengers were UTME candidates.
