Governor Hyacinth Alia has appealed to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Examination Board (JAMB) to conduct fresh examination for eight candidates in Benue State who were kidnapped at Oturkpo Local Government Area on their way to the exercise on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
The governor, who made the appeal when the Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command, CP Ifeanyi Enemari, presented the 18 rescued victims to him at the Government House, Makurdi, on Sunday, said the government will offer scholarship to the victims to aid their education.
While directing the Commissioner for Health and Human Services to forward the victims to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital for free medical examination, Governor Alia decried the negative news of the kidnapping trend in the State, which he noted must be reversed.
“It is sad that in recent times, 20 medical students from the University of Jos, on their way to the East, 17 people from Oju, 9 parishioners in Ado and 13 at Katsina-Ala local government areas were kidnapped but rescued at different points,” he said.
He reinstated the decision of his administration to curb insecurity in the State, commending the Police Command and other security forces on standby to flush out criminal elements.
Governor Alia, however, expressed appreciation that seven members of the kidnapping syndicates are in custody, urging the police to employ new tactics to ensure the safety of Benue people.
He also commended the Inspector General of Police for the deployment of the tactical team that came to the rescue of the 18 victims from a kidnapping syndicate, and sympathised with the families of those killed at Mbapa community in Gwer West by suspected herders.
Earlier, the Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command, CP Ifeanyi Enemari, informed the governor that all the 18 victims, including those going for UTME, were rescued from the kidnappers’ den, while seven suspects were arrested.
The CP commended Governor Hyacinth Alia for creating an enabling environment for the Police command to operate, assuring teamwork with other sister security forces to tame the tide of criminality.
Two of the victims said they were on their way to sit for the UTME examination at Ugbokolo on that fateful day before gunmen stopped the vehicle on the highway and led them into the forest.
The rescued victims presented at the Government House, Makurdi, were Augustine Okechalo, Emmanuel Okechalo, Joshua Elaigwu, Hyacinth Okoh, Paul Wende, Benjamin Nyikwagh and Aondokator Nyikwagh.
Others were Ngukulan Iornav, Daniel Ngutor Gbile, Agatha Buter, John Tersoo Ukaha, Raphael Orih, Emmanuel Orkuma, Timothy Kim and Simon Friday.