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BREAKING : Gunmen kidnap JAMB candidates, others in Benue
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Gunmen have abducted several passengers, including candidates of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, along the Makurdi–Otukpo road in Benue State.
The victims were reportedly travelling in a Benue Links bus from Makurdi to Otukpo when the vehicle was attacked on Wednesday night.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bus conveying about 18 passengers was intercepted near Otukpo around 8 p.m. by suspected bandits who took most of the occupants into the bush.
The source disclosed that two persons, including the driver and a passenger, escaped from the attack, adding that the victims were mostly young people travelling to Otukpo to sit for the JAMB examination scheduled for Thursday.
Confirming the incident, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ifeanyi Emenari, said 14 passengers were abducted while one person escaped.
He stated that he was in Otukpo coordinating rescue efforts with security operatives already deployed to the area.
The police commissioner explained that the incident involved a Benue Links bus attacked by hoodlums while conveying passengers to Otukpo, resulting in the abduction of 14 occupants.
He added that the command had commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the journey, noting that the transport company has a policy against night travel but the driver allegedly picked up passengers after official hours.
Emenari assured that efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the victims.
Also confirming the development, the Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, said security operatives had been deployed into the forest to rescue the abducted passengers.
He noted that the victims were mainly young boys and girls travelling to write the JAMB examination.
Passengers along the Makurdi–Otukpo road have faced repeated attacks by gunmen in recent months.
The Defence Headquarters has clarified the recent public discussions surrounding the neutralisation of a prominent terrorist commander, Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki.
A collaborative operation with the United States Africa Command on May 16, 2026, led to the killing of Bilal Al-Minuki.
Following the development, certain media outlets referenced a similar operation from 2024, which involved the elimination of a terrorist commander with the same name.
This has understandably raised questions regarding the identity of the individual who was recently neutralised.
In a statement signed by Somalia Uba, Director of Defence Information, the DHQ said: “It is crucial to note that in the North East region and throughout the Lake Chad Basin, the use of similar or identical names, aliases and nom de guerres is prevalent among ISWAP and Boko Haram terrorists.
“This practice is a deliberate part of their indoctrination strategy, aimed at obscuring identities. This fact has been corroborated over the years during counter-terrorism operations in Northeast Nigeria.
“The Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki who was eliminated on May 16, 2026, has been positively identified through human intelligence and technical surveillance as a senior global operative within the Islamic State network, possessing direct connections to international terrorist coordination, funding and operations across the Sahel. Thus, there is no ambiguity regarding his identity.”
The statement added that the strike represents a significant achievement in the country’s counter-terrorism initiatives.
It said the Armed Forces of Nigeria, in collaboration with the United States, remain dedicated to dismantling terrorist networks and will continue to disseminate verified information through official channels.
It called on the general public and the media to rely solely on authorised sources to prevent confusion arising from coincidental name similarities.
Three aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who were anointed as consensus candidates by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State for House of Representatives seats have been disqualified by the party.
The three aspirants endorsed by Aiyedatiwa, who have been screened out, were identified as Tajudeen Adefisoye (Idanre/Ifedore federal constituency), Victor Ategbole (Akoko South-East/South-West federal constituency) and Samuel Arowele (Owo/Ose federal constituency).
Others not cleared along with the governor’s preferred aspirants are Seun Ajongbolo (Akoko South-East/South-West federal constituency), Morufu Ibrahim, Oyeniyi Oseni ((Akoko North-East/North-West) and Olaleye Adedipe (Akoko North-East/North-West).
With the reasons for the disqualification of the aspirants not revealed in a statement issued on Saturday by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, some aspirants in the state have kicked and condemned the endorsement of the anointed aspirants.
Meanwhile, there was large turnout of APC members on Saturday during the direct primaries conducted across the 203 wards of the state.
In Akur metropolis, party members arrived at the designated wards in their numbers around 8:00 am with the officials of the party doing a headcount of everyone.
At Wards 4, 5, and 8, members of the party were seen queuing behind the poster of the aspirants they are supporting.
Meanwhile, there was an uproar in some of the wards as party faithful lamented that electoral officials were not on the ground to take record of the exercise.
Six suspected Islamic State West Africa Province members, including a bomb expert, were killed early Friday when an improvised explosive device detonated prematurely in Marte Local Government Area.
Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the blast occurred around 7:00 a.m. on May 16, 2026, at Jubilaram while the group was assembling the device. The team was led by Abu Umar, identified as a bomb expert, who died in the explosion along with five other militants. Three others were reportedly injured.
Intelligence assessments say the deceased were part of ISWAP’s IED cell operating along the Marte–Kerenoa–Wulgo axis in the Lake Chad Basin. The explosion destroyed the site, located between Arinna Maimasallaci and Arinna Ciki, and is expected to temporarily disrupt the group’s bomb-making operations in the area.
Military sources said the incident could weaken ISWAP’s capability along key routes in the Marte axis. Authorities are considering follow-up air and ground operations to exploit the disruption.
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