Benue Police free the remaining 13 passengers kidnapped along the Otukpo-Adoka Road on August 14, closing out the case after a night raid at Amla-Cho Forest, though the suspects escaped.
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Otukpo, Benue State — August 21, 2026
The Benue State Police Command has rescued 13 more victims kidnapped along the Otukpo–Adoka Road on August 14, 2026, while travelling from Enugu to Abuja, bringing to a close a six-day search-and-rescue effort for passengers seized in the mass abduction.
According to a statement from the command, operatives acting on credible intelligence carried out a night operation that culminated in the rescue at around 2 a.m. on August 20, at Amla-Cho Forest in Otukpo Local Government Area, where they located both the kidnappers and their captives. The suspects fled into the darkness as police closed in, but all 13 victims were recovered unhurt.
The rescue capped days of sustained operations that included a fierce gun battle on August 16 at around 6 p.m., during which operatives neutralised one of the kidnappers and recovered an AK-47 rifle along with five rounds of live ammunition.
Following the rescue, the 13 victims were taken to a medical facility for treatment before being transported to their respective destinations aboard a chartered bus.
The operation also revealed a documentation gap in the original passenger count. Police had earlier rescued five victims, with the manifest indicating nine more remained in captivity, but subsequent verification found that four additional passengers had not been captured on the manifest at all, bringing the true number rescued in this final phase to 13 rather than nine.
Citing the discrepancy, the command urged transport operators to maintain accurate and complete passenger manifests for every trip, stressing that proper documentation is critical to enabling timely identification, verification, and rescue efforts during emergencies.
The command said it is intensifying efforts to track down and arrest the suspects who escaped during the final rescue operation, relying on continued intelligence-led operations. Commissioner of Police, CP Cletus C.N. Nwadiogbu, commended the personnel involved for their courage and sustained effort, and reassured the public of the command's continued commitment to protecting lives and property across the state.
The command thanked residents for their cooperation and renewed its appeal for the public, particularly those in affected communities, to remain vigilant and share credible information that could help apprehend the remaining suspects and prevent similar incidents.
The successful rescue of all victims marks the resolution of one of Benue's most closely watched security incidents this month, following earlier updates on the case that saw five victims, including a four-year-old boy, freed within a day of the initial abduction, before the remaining captives were located and rescued over the following days.
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