We were threatened with guns, bullets: Freed Benue JAMB candidate recounts kidnap horror

By Johnson Arua

A rescued Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) candidate, Agatha Buter, has narrated how she and other passengers were brutalised by armed men after the attack on a Benue Links bus along the Makurdi–Otukpo highway.

Agatha was among passengers abducted last Wednesday while travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo in an 18-seater bus.
Eight of the victims were UTME candidates heading to Otukpo to sit for their examination when they were intercepted by the gunmen.

The victims were Sunday received at the Benue State Government House after their release and were presented to Governor Hyacinth Alia.

Speaking on their experience, Agatha said the abductors subjected them to violence and constant threats in a bid to extract ransom from their families.

“They threatened us with guns and bullets and beat us with cutlasses so our parents could bring the N10 million they demanded,” she said.

She further revealed that the male victims were more severely beaten during the ordeal.

“The boys were beaten the most. They used cutlasses on them repeatedly because they were forcing us to hurry the ransom payment,” she added.

According to her, the kidnappers operated from a forest hideout believed to be a settlement occupied by armed men.

Agatha also described the harsh conditions under which they were kept, noting that food and water were scarce.

“They gave us garri mixed with salt and sometimes mangoes. On the third day, we had no food and were forced to drink unsafe water,” she said.

She said the experience was traumatic and left them deeply shaken, describing it as something difficult to believe even after their release.

Agatha expressed appreciation to security operatives and the state government for their efforts, saying their intervention contributed to their freedom.