UPDATED: Gunmen Kidnap Passengers in Benue and Kogi States

Authorities report that gunmen abducted multiple passengers during distinct operations in Benue State and Kogi State, involving fatalities and ongoing rescue efforts

In Benue, around 16 individuals were taken hostage along the Utonkon-Okpoga Road after an assault on a commercial bus transporting passengers from Oju Local Government Area and Obi Local Government Area to western Nigeria.

This event transpired at approximately 7 PM on Monday along the route connecting Ado Local Government Area to Okpokwu Local Government Area, occurring just a day after nine churchgoers were kidnapped from a place of worship in Utonkon.

Comrade Jude Onwe, a community youth leader, stated that the bus, which had departed Iheijwo Market in Oju LGA, was en route to destinations in the western region when it was ambushed by the gunmen at the Utonkon-Ojapo/Okpoga route in Ado LGA.

He disclosed that the assailants halted the vehicle and forcibly took 15 passengers into the nearby forest. One individual was shot dead when the driver initially refused to comply. Additionally, the kidnappers confiscated the passengers' mobile phones to prevent communication with their families; later, the abandoned bus was transported to Utonkon Police Station.

Confirming the event, Jackson Ominyi, the Chairman of Oju LGA, stated that the attack involved 16 victims, of whom two were killed while two others were successfully rescued.

He noted that this rescue operation was a collaborative effort with the chairman of Okpokwu LGA, while law enforcement agencies are still searching for the remaining 12 kidnapped individuals.

In Kogi State, suspected kidnappers also took passengers from three vehicles—a Siena bus, a Jeep, and a Honda Accord—on the Ejule-Alloma highway within Ofu Local Government Area.

Local reports indicate that this assault occurred around 5 PM on Monday as the vehicles were traveling from Ejule to Enugu, encountering a blockade established by the assailants near the Government Secondary School in Alloma community.

Eyewitnesses recounted how several passengers were forced into the forest, and others suffered various gunshot wounds during the ambush. Those who were injured were promptly evacuated by security personnel to the Comprehensive Hospital in Alloma for medical care.

A security official later confirmed that four individuals from the Siena bus were taken captive, while passengers from the Honda Accord and Jeep managed to escape, albeit with injuries. Joint search operations are currently being conducted by the army, police, and local vigilante groups.

Kassim Itodo, the operation commander of the Idah Area Command of the Nigeria Forest Security Service, confirmed that one of the abducted passengers, identified as Blessing Richard, had been rescued.

The woman explained that she was on her way from Abah to Kaduna when her vehicle was intercepted at Alloma and the passengers were forced into the wilderness.

“I became exhausted and fainted in the forest after walking for hours. The kidnappers left me behind and continued with the others,” she narrated in a video clip.

She was initially taken to Iboko settlement following her release and is currently receiving treatment in a hospital in Alloma.

As of the time of this report, officials from the police departments in both Benue and Kogi states had not responded to inquiries for official statements regarding the incidents.