Police rescue eight kidnapped Benue passengers

The Benue State Police Command on Friday rescued eight passengers who were kidnapped along the Ankpenchi-Ogobia axis in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state.

The state Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, stated this during a press conference held at the state headquarters in Makurdi.

According to the CP, suspected kidnappers had, on September 13, intercepted a commercial bus at about 11pm along Ankpenchi-Ogobia and abducted all 13 passengers on board.

The police boss said the rescued victims were safe and receiving necessary attention, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing members of the syndicate and recover the corpse of the deceased.

“In the early hours of September 18, 2026, at about 0630 hours, operatives of the Command attached to the Violent Crime Response Unit, alongside other tactical teams, who have since Monday been engaged in search and rescue operations, acting on credible intelligence, stormed the camp of the suspected kidnapping syndicate at the Ankpenchi axis of Amla Forest, Ohimini LGA.

“The operation resulted in an exchange of gunfire with the kidnappers, during which eight of the remaining victims were successfully rescued.

“Unfortunately, it was gathered from the victims that one of them, who sustained fatal injuries from the kidnappers during the attack, died in another area of the forest,” he said.

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