Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia on Sunday urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s management to reschedule the examination date for eight Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidates who were kidnapped last Wednesday.
Alia made the call on Sunday while hosting the remaining 13 abduction victims who were recovered in the early hours of the day at the old banquet hall of Government House in Makurdi.
The governor stated that the kidnapping victims were victims of circumstances and should not be ignored.
Alia said, “Many of the students were traveling to Otukpo. Seven were regular passengers, and 15 were kidnapped that fateful day. One of the victims escaped, and another one escaped the following day.
“Today, all the remaining 13 kidnap victims were rescued by the security agents with the cooperation of the communities.
“I call on JAMB to look into the case of the eight young students and reschedule dates for them to write their examination.”
The governor stated that 15 of the 18 passengers on the Benue Links bus were kidnapped between Taraku and Otukpo in Gwer East and Otukpo LGAs of the state.
The victims will be taken to the State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi for medical treatment before being returned to their families.
While reporting that seven suspects have been apprehended in connection with the recent kidnapping, Alia urged security personnel to assist in flushing out criminal elements living in ungoverned areas around the state, stating, “Our people deserve to live in peace.”
Speaking earlier, Ifeanyi Emenari, the state’s commissioner of police, stated that the rescue was made possible by the concerted efforts of various security agencies and communities.
Eighteen people, including Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidates, were on their way to Otukpo on Wednesday night when gunmen grabbed them at 8 p.m.
The UTME applicants, whose examination center was in Otukpo, approximately 105 miles from Makurdi, had planned to spend the night there before their early examination time. Unfortunately, they were abducted a few kilometers from Otukpo.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s management disputed that any of its applicants were among those kidnapped in a statement made on Saturday.
However, a cousin of one of the victims, who declined to be identified and talked to journalists in Makurdi on Saturday night, chastised JAMB for not doing extensive investigations before publishing the statement.
