No fewer than 20 medical students have been kidnapped in Otukpo Local Government area of Benue State.
According to CHANNELS TELEVISION report, the victims were on their way to Enugu state, passing through Otukpo Local Government area in Benue before they encountered bandits.
Confirming the incident to journalists, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Sewuese Anene, said that the victims were en route to Enugu for a programme when they ran into the kidnappers around Otukpo.
The students were said to be travelling in a convoy of two buses and were coming from the northern part of the country when they ran into the ambush on Thursday evening at about 5:30 pm.
“Yes it happened yesterday, Thursday evening around 5:30pm. The Medical students were said to be travelling from Jos axis and were heading to Enugu in two buses, for a programme when they were kidnapped around the Otukpo area,” he said.
“Though I cannot tell which university they were from, but they were medical students on transit. I am yet to receive full details of the incident but I can assure you that investigation into the matter has already commenced.”
For years, the federal highway spanning from Otukpo to Ugbokolo in Okpokwu local government area, and extending to Odoba and Otukpa in Ogbadibo local government area, has earned a grim reputation as a “death trap” due to a disturbing surge in kidnapping incidents.
