‘Fed garri, mangoes; beaten with cutlasses’ – JAMB candidate recounts Benue kidnap ordeal
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By Peter Duru, Makurdi
A rescued candidate of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Agatha Buter, has recounted the terrifying experience she and other passengers endured after armed men attacked a Benue Links bus along the Makurdi-Otukpo highway.
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Agatha was among passengers abducted last Wednesday while travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo in an 18-seater bus.
Eight of the victims were JAMB candidates en route to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, in Otukpo when they were seized.
The victims were later brought to the Benue State Government House, where they were presented to Governor Hyacinth Alia after their release.
‘My ordeal’
Speaking about their time in captivity, Agatha said they were subjected to severe intimidation and physical abuse by their abductors.
“They threatened us with guns and bullets and beat us with cutlasses to force our parents to raise the ransom of N10 million they demanded,” she said.
She added that the male victims were particularly targeted during the ordeal.
“The boys among us suffered the most. They were beaten repeatedly with cutlasses because the kidnappers were pushing for the ransom,” she explained.
Agatha also said the captors were armed herdsmen men operating from a forest-based settlement.
According to her, the group was poorly fed throughout their captivity.
“They gave us gari with salt and sometimes mangoes. On the third day, we had no food and were forced to drink unsafe water,” she said.
She described the experience as deeply traumatic, saying it felt unreal and left them emotionally shaken.
Agatha expressed gratitude to security agencies and the Benue State Government, noting that their intervention contributed to their eventual release.
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