Police rescue eight kidnap victims in Benue forest, one dies from injuries

The Benue State Police Command has rescued eight passengers who were among 13 people abducted along the Ankpenchi-Ogobia road in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state.

The State Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, disclosed this on Friday during a press conference at the command headquarters in Makurdi.

According to him, the victims were abducted on September 13, 2026, when armed men intercepted a commercial bus travelling along the Ankpenchi-Ogobia axis at about 11pm.

Nwadiogbu said police operatives immediately launched coordinated search and rescue operations following the incident.

He explained that four of the 13 victims were initially rescued, leaving nine others in the custody of the kidnappers.

The CP said tactical teams attached to the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, supported by other units, had been conducting search and rescue operations since Monday, September 14, based on credible intelligence.

He said the operation culminated in a raid on the suspected kidnappers’ camp at the Ankpenchi axis of Amla Forest in Ohimini LGA in the early hours of Friday.

“In the early hours of today, September 18, 2026, at about 0630 hours, operatives of the Command attached to the Violent Crime Response Unit, alongside other tactical teams, who have since Monday, 14/09/2026, been in the search and rescue operations acting on credible intelligence, stormed the camp of the suspected kidnapping syndicate at the Ankpenchi axis of Amla Forest Ohimini LGA,” Nwadiogbu said.

The police boss said the operation led to an exchange of gunfire between the security operatives and the kidnappers, during which eight of the remaining nine victims were rescued.

However, one of the victims reportedly died from injuries sustained during the kidnappers’ attack.

Nwadiogbu said the development was disclosed to the police by the rescued victims, adding that the deceased victim’s body was believed to have been left in another part of the forest.

“The operation resulted in an exchange of gunfire with the kidnappers, during which eight of the remaining victims were successfully rescued. Unfortunately, it was gathered from the victims that one of them, who sustained fatal injuries from the kidnappers during the attack, died in another area of the forest,” he said.

The commissioner said the rescued victims were safe and receiving the necessary attention.

He added that police operatives were continuing efforts to apprehend members of the kidnapping syndicate who fled the area during the operation and recover the body of the deceased victim.

The incident comes amid continued security operations across the country targeting kidnapping and other violent crimes.

The Nigeria Police Force had on Sunday announced the arrest of 262 suspects and the rescue of 27 kidnapped victims during various operations across the country.

According to the police, the suspects were arrested for offences including kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, banditry, cultism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, vandalism and other criminal activities.