SaharaReporters gathered that on Thursday, evening passengers travelling on three 15-seater commercial buses were attacked and abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers.
No fewer than 45 passengers have reportedly been kidnaped in Orokam, along the Otukpo-Enugu Road in the Ogbadigbo Local Government Area of Benue State.
SaharaReporters gathered that on Thursday, evening passengers travelling on three 15-seater commercial buses were attacked and abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers.
The heavily armed men were reported to have ambushed the ill-fated commercial vehicles when they sprang from the nearby forest in Orokam and forced their drivers at gunpoint to pull over.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the armed men had already opened negotiations with family members of the kidnapped passengers for the payment of ransom for their release.
A manager in one of the commercial transportation companies at the busy Wurumum Park who spoke to Vanguard revealed that the armed men initially asked for N15 million for each passenger, “but they negotiated and settled for N3 million for each of the passengers."
The manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that no fewer than 45 passengers were involved in abduction.
“Some of the family members came here to find out if we have any details or are in touch with the kidnappers, but we told them that our company was not involved.
“They lamented that they had reached agreements with the kidnappers, and while trying to resolve how the N3 million they demanded would be sent to them, the phone line went off and they have not been able to reach the armed men anymore.
“So it is like they have been moving from one park to the other to find out the companies that own the buses involved in the unfortunate incident. But from what we heard one of the vehicles has its head office in Gboko,” the manager said.
According to him, “it was easy for the armed men to stop the vehicles because that portion of the road is very bad”.
“The first person that came out of the bush was a heavily built young man who came out carrying an automatic rifle and a chain of bullets round his body," he added.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on the telephone, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Catherine Anene, said that the command had not been informed of such an incident.
“I don’t have that report yet,” she said.