No fewer than 15 travellers were abducted on Thursday by gunmen along the Adoka-Naka Road in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State. The attack reportedly occurred just three kilometres from Naka town, involving two commercial vehicles travelling in opposite directions. Victims were taken into the bush, and the fate of the abductees remains unknown.
Yakubu Onu, Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (High Level Unit), confirmed the incident. He explained that the first vehicle, with nine passengers heading from Makurdi to Lokoja, was intercepted, and six people were taken. A second vehicle, en route from Ankpa in Kogi State to Makurdi, was similarly attacked and all eight passengers abducted. A handful of passengers who escaped reported the matter to police in Naka.
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The traditional ruler of the area, the Ter Tyoshin of Gwer West, His Royal Highness Daniel Abomtse, also confirmed the attack. He identified the affected vehicles as a picnic bus and a Sharon bus, adding that some passengers who were not taken have since been released by police.
The Benue State Police Command has yet to issue an official statement. The abductions come amid a surge in violent attacks in the state, with over 200 people reportedly killed in recent weeks. Governor Hyacinth Alia has blamed the unrest on “foreign elements” and warned of a worsening threat beyond the traditional farmer-herder conflict.
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