Parents of 12 Benue Links passengers abducted by gunmen at Eke, in Okpokwu LGA of Benue State, have demanded an investigation into the role played by security personnel in the incident.
The parents also said the police lied in the claim that the passengers were rescued during an operation. According to the parents, the passengers were freed after ransom payment.
A parent of one of the victims who spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity in Makurdi, called on the government to investigate the soldiers and other security personnel posted to the Eke checkpoint at the time of the incident.
He said the demand is rooted in what he described as “visible negligence” and “false claims” by the police after his family paid a ransom to secure the victims’ release.
“My daughter said soldiers were right there when they were kidnapped but did nothing. They just watched as the kidnappers took them into the bush.
“Later, when the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, went there to ask the soldiers for the direction the kidnappers went, they gave him the wrong one, sending police on a fruitless chase.
“Let the government fish out those who were on duty that day,” the man said.
He also criticised the police for announcing that they had rescued the victims when, according to him, no such operation was carried out.
“I was still in Ugbokolo, not even out of town after paying the ransom, and the police were already on air claiming they rescued them,” the angry father added.
A female victim who recounted her ordeal, said the attack happened at exactly 6:33 pm after they approached the Eke checkpoint where uniformed security personnel were stationed.
She said gunshots rang out from both rear and front, forcing the vehicle to stop.
According to the victim, the abductors, three in number, marched them from the highway into the bush where they trekked nearly nine kilometres farther in the forest.
“We were hidden under rocks and frequently relocated each time they heard gunshots.
“They tied the men and macheted one of them and gave him a deep cut on the forehead.
“The next day, when we began hearing motorcycles and voices, the abductors started demanding ransom and hid us under rocks,” she said.
She said after ransom was reportedly delivered by a victim’s family, the kidnappers abandoned the passengers in the bush.
Stranded and exhausted, she said the victims wandered until they stumbled on a nearby house, whose resident alerted volunteer guards that came to evacuate them to the Ugbokolo Police Station.
