Our Abductors Beat Us, Forced Us to Drink Dirty Water – UTME Candidates

Our Abductors Beat Us, Forced Us to Drink Dirty Water – UTME Candidates

Rescued victims of kidnapping, including candidates of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), shared their traumatic experiences of torture, starvation, and inhumane treatment after spending four days in captivity on Sunday.

Rescued victims of kidnapping

The victims were taken hostage on Wednesday along the Taraku–Otukpo road in the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State during an assault on a Benue Links vehicle transporting passengers.

They were ultimately freed on Sunday morning by security forces following persistent pressure exerted on the kidnappers.

Governor Hyacinth Alia, who welcomed the victims at the Government House in Makurdi, confirmed that eight of them were UTME candidates, while the remaining individuals were regular commuters caught in the attack.

The rescued individuals were identified as Augustine Sunday Okechalo, Emmanuel Okechalo, Elaigwu Joshua, Hyacinth Okoh, Wende Paul, Nyikwagh Benjamin Aondokator, Iornav Ngukulan, Gbile Ngutor Daniel, Akor Jessica, Buter Agatha, Ukaha Tersoo John, Orih Raphael Sylvester, Kim Timothy, and Simon Friday.

An 18-year-old victim, Gbenda Daniels, who was en route to take the UTME at the time of the incident, reported that the kidnappers took his N8,000 and subjected them to severe beatings while withholding food.

“They took my N8,000. They beat us, and we didn’t eat anything; we only drank dirty water,” he recounted.

Another UTME candidate, Ngukulan Iornav, also 18, stated that they were provided with only garri and salt during their time in the forest.

“They gave us garri and salt. I was beaten severely,” she said.

Orih Raphael Sylvester, a medical student who had just finished his final exams at the University of Maiduguri and was heading home to Otukpo before the incident, recounted how the ordeal began.

He explained that all passengers boarded the vehicle at the motor park and departed around 6 pm, arriving at Taraku at approximately 8:26 pm due to mechanical issues that delayed the journey.