Benue State Police rescued eight passengers who had been abducted by suspected kidnappers on Friday after a gun battle, State Commissioner of Police Cletus Nwadiogbu said at a press briefing in Makurdi. The abduction took place at about 11 p.m. on Sunday along the Ankpenchi‑Ogobia axis in Ohimini Local Government Area, Benue State, when armed men attacked a commercial bus traveling from Abakaliki in Ebonyi State to Abuja.
The bus was carrying 13 passengers when the attackers seized them; four were freed shortly after the incident, while the remaining nine were taken deeper into the forest. Police launched a sustained search and rescue operation on September 14, deploying the Violent Crime Response Unit and other tactical teams to comb the area.
According to Nwadiogbu, operatives received credible intelligence that led them to a suspected kidnappers’ hideout in the Amla forest near the Ankpenchi axis. At about 6:30 a.m. on Friday, police stormed the camp, resulting in a fierce exchange of gunfire and the successful rescue of eight of the nine remaining hostages.
The ninth hostage, who had been shot in the abdomen during the initial attack, died from his injuries before police could reach him. Nwadiogbu said the kidnappers kept the victim alive while moving him between forest locations in an attempt to secure ransom, but he ultimately succumbed to his wounds.
The commissioner described the death as “painful and unfortunate” and said police would remain in the forest to recover the victim’s remains and pursue the fleeing suspects. He urged travellers to avoid night journeys on routes identified as vulnerable, recommending that motorists and passengers stop in nearby towns overnight and continue their trips the following day.
Nwadiogbu assured residents that the command is strengthening intelligence gathering and tactical operations to identify and apprehend members of the suspected kidnapping syndicate. He noted that this rescue follows a second major incident involving travellers kidnapped along the same route in recent weeks, underscoring the ongoing security challenges in Benue, a central state of Nigeria.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
