The Commissioner of Police for the Benue State command, CP Ifeanyi Emenari, on Sunday, April 19, 2026, confirmed the rescue of the remaining 13 passengers, mostly candidates of the JAMB UTME students that were kidnapped last week Wednesday night while traveling to Otukpo on a Benue Links bus.
CP Emenari, who announced to a journalist via a text message, said the victims were rescued through a joint security operations, adding that the would be conveyed to Makurdi.
Emenari said; “Yes, to God be the glory, we’re planning a news conference this morning when they arrive in Makurdi. Good morning”.
CP Emenari on Friday told journalists that five of the victims had been rescued, leaving 13 still in captivity at the time.
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Wednesday at about 8:00 p.m., intercepted one of the state-owned Benue Links bus and abducted 15 passengers, including students that were travelling to Otukpo for their JAMB Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), had in a statement on Saturday, denied that any of its candidates were victims of the abduction.
But, a relative of one of the victims, who spoke with journalists in Makurdi on condition of anonymity, dismissed JAMB’s claim, describing it as “disturbing and dismissive”, saying that many of the passengers on the bus were traveling to sit for the UTME.
“My nephew was on that bus, and he was heading to Otukpo for his JAMB examination. In fact, most of the passengers were candidates. Only a few were not going for the exam. “They had to hurry to travel that evening in order to meet the time allocated for the examination to start. Their exams schedule was for early morning,” he explained.
The management of Benue Links Limited while confirming the incident, said that the driver of the bus has been taken into police custody.
