Six travellers have reportedly been kidnapped by armed men along the Adoka–Otukpo Road in Benue State while transporting the corpse of a woman from Kano to Okpoga for burial.
The incident reportedly occurred around 8 p.m. on Friday when the gunmen intercepted the vehicle carrying the six occupants and the deceased woman’s remains.
The abductors allegedly took all six passengers away, abandoning the woman’s corpse inside the vehicle.
According to an activist and citizen journalist, Meddy Olotu, who disclosed the incident in a social media video, the victims were travelling to Okpoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area when they were attacked.
Olotu explained that family members lost contact with the travellers after they arrived in Adoka on Friday night.
He further disclosed that operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) discovered the abandoned corpse the following morning and took it to the police station in Adoka before it was transferred to a mortuary.
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The activist revealed that the kidnappers had contacted the victims’ relatives and demanded a ransom of ₦15 million for the release of the six abductees.
He added that one of the family members had been communicating with the kidnappers in Hausa, while efforts were ongoing to secure the victims’ freedom.
Olotu expressed concern over the family’s situation, noting that they were already grieving the loss of their relative and had now been confronted with the additional burden of raising the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
He appealed to security agencies and relevant authorities to urgently intervene, rescue the abducted travellers and ensure that the woman’s remains are returned to her family for burial.
Meanwhile, attempts to reach the Benue State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Orchia Peter Aondong, for confirmation and further comments were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report
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