Troops foil kidnap attempt, rescue 24 passengers in Benue

Troops of Joint Task Force, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), have foiled a kidnap attempt along the Otukpo–Enugu Road in Benue State and rescued 24 passengers.

The Acting Media Information Officer, Headquarters JTF OPWS, Lt. Ahmad Zubairu, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday in Makurdi.

Zubairu said the incident, which occurred in Amoda in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state on Monday night, troops mobilised to the scene and forced the kidnappers to flee and abandon the passengers.

He said: “The armed criminals had emerged from the bush and briefly occupied an existing checkpoint.

“The assailants subsequently stopped two 18-seater commercial buses travelling from Jos, Plateau, to Ibadan, Oyo State, and attempted to abduct all passengers.

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“However, the timely intervention of troops of OPWS led to a firefight that compelled the kidnappers to abandon their victims and flee into the bush.

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“In the initial encounter, 15 passengers were rescued and handed over to the Nigerian Police Division, Otukpo, while six adults and four minors were declared missing.

“Subsequent operations led to the rescue of an additional five adults and all four minors now in custody of the Police Area Command, Otukpo, with search efforts ongoing to locate the remaining missing passenger.”

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