Six people travelling along the Adoka-Otukpo Road in Benue State have reportedly been kidnapped by gunmen who left behind the corpse of a woman they were conveying in their vehicle.
The victims were said to be travelling from Kano State to Okpoga, in the Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, with the woman’s remains for burial.
The incident reportedly occurred around 8 p.m. on Friday when the travellers were intercepted by armed men along the Adoka axis.
The kidnappers allegedly abducted all six occupants of the vehicle but abandoned the woman’s corpse at the scene.
An activist and citizen journalist, Meddy Olotu, raised the alarm in a video shared on social media, urging security agencies and relevant authorities to intervene and secure the release of the victims.
Olotu disclosed that the families of the abducted travellers lost contact with them after they arrived in Adoka on Friday night.
He further explained that operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, found the woman’s corpse the following morning and transferred it to the police station in Adoka before it was taken to a mortuary.
According to the activist, the abductors have demanded a ransom of N15 million for the release of the six victims, who remained in captivity as of Monday.
“Last night, I spoke with one of the family members, who said the kidnappers had been calling. Fortunately, he understands Hausa and has been able to communicate with them,” Olotu said.
He expressed concern that the family, which was already grieving the loss of the woman, had been confronted with the additional challenge of raising the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
Olotu appealed to the authorities to intensify efforts to rescue the six victims and allow the family to retrieve the woman’s remains for burial.
Attempts to reach the Benue State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Orchia Peter Aondong, for confirmation and comments were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
DAILY POST