Panic has gripped communities in Benue State following the abduction of several female passengers by suspected armed herdsmen, who hijacked a Benue Links commercial vehicle on Saturday evening along the Owukpa–Orokam road in Ogbadibo Local Government Area.
The brazen attack occurred around 7 p.m. near the Eyiupi community, as the victims were returning from Orba market in Enugu State and heading to Owukpa.
According to eyewitnesses, the assailants laid an ambush, forcibly stopping the vehicle and abducting all female passengers, including both young girls and adult women.
In a chilling twist, one of the victims who sustained multiple gunshot wounds was reportedly left behind by the kidnappers due to excessive bleeding, which may have risked exposing their location. The wounded woman is currently battling for her life in the intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Okpoga.
Confirming the incident, Amos Agada, head of the Owukpa vigilante group, disclosed that as of Sunday morning, the kidnappers had yet to make any contact with the victims’ families. He said local security teams are combing the area in a desperate bid to locate and rescue the abducted women.
Meanwhile, prominent community figure Hon. Adikwu Daniel has sounded the alarm, urging the Ogbadibo Local Government Chairman, alongside security agencies, to take immediate action.
This road has become a deadly corridor. There is no serious security presence, and these attacks have gone unchecked for too long,” he lamented in a statement issued Sunday.
Daniel confirmed that his plea for urgent intervention had been forwarded to the Ada Ogbadibo, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Orokam.
As tension mounts, families of the abducted women and the wider community continue to hope for swift action and a permanent security solution to the increasingly lawless stretch of road.
