Gunmen abduct six mourners taking woman's body home to Benue
- Six people, including a widower, were seized on Adoka Road in Otukpo on Friday night while carrying his wife's body to Okpoga.
- The kidnappers abandoned the corpse and are demanding ₦15m, according to the Otukpo council chairman and family contacts.
- Police and the local council say rescue efforts are ongoing; the victims had not been freed as of Monday.
Gunmen don abduct six people wey dey travel from Kano go Okpoga in Benue State to bury one woman, and dem abandon her body by roadside on Adoka Road in Otukpo Local Government Area.
Dem talk say the victims include the dead woman husband and five friends, and dem seize dem around 8pm on Friday. Dem been dey road since dem leave Kano, and Adoka dey about one hour from where dem dey go for Okpokwu Local Government Area.
The Otukpo council chairman, Maxwell Ogiri, confirm the abduction on Monday, say the driver of the vehicle na im friend. "It is really traumatic," im talk, and add say the kidnappers dey demand ₦15 million.
The Benue State police spokesperson, DSP Peter Aondongu, also confirm the incident, say e happen on Friday and say officers dey work to rescue the victims.
Dem find body on Saturday
According to residents and one community member, Meddy Olotu, the woman body dey inside the vehicle when the gunmen carry the six men go bush. Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) reportedly find the corpse on Saturday morning and carry am go police station at Adoka, from where dem move am go mortuary.
Olotu talk say the abductors don contact the family and dem dey ask for ₦15 million. Im talk say one relative fit speak with dem because im understand Hausa. As of Monday, dem never release the six.
Ogiri talk say security agencies dey track the kidnappers, and say local vigilantes and youths also dey involved in the push to free the victims.
Why e matter
The Otukpo-Adoka and Ohimini roads don become dangerous for travellers. In October, gunmen abduct one Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. John Otache, and seven others along the Ugbokolo-Ajegbe-Awume Road in Ohimini. In August, dem carry 14 passengers wey dey go Abuja along the Otukpo-Adoka Road.
For families in Benue and travellers wey dey pass through the state, the repeated attacks mean night journeys and remote highways carry real risk. For the bereaved family in this case, the grief of losing a wife and mother don add up with the disappearance of the men wey dey bring her home for burial.
What happens next: Police talk say rescue efforts dey ongoing. The woman body still dey mortuary in Adoka pending when dem go release the abducted men.
