Gunmen abduct six mourners, abandon dead body on highway in Benue

Six persons conveying the remains of a woman for burial have been abducted along Adoka Road in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

According to reports, the husband of the deceased and five others were kidnapped on Friday, October 30, at about 8 p.m. while taking her body to Okpoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area for burial.

It was gathered that the woman had died in Kano, and her body was being transported to Okpoga by her husband and five other mourners when their vehicle was intercepted along the notorious Adoka Road by armed men.  

The kidnappers were said to have whisked the mourners away to the bush, abandoning the woman’s body on the highway.

Officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps found the body on the road on Saturday and took it to the police station in Adoka, from where the police later deposited it in a morgue.

The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said the driver of the vehicle was his friend.

“Yes, it happened. Incidentally, the driver of the vehicle is my friend. This is the unfortunate incident we are seeing. It is really traumatic. 

The kidnappers are demanding N15 million. But the security agencies are trying to track the kidnappers. Also, our vigilantes and youths are not resting in their efforts to ensure that the kidnapped victims are rescued.”