Benue State Command on Friday rescued nine passengers who were earlier kidnapped along the Ankpenchi-Ogobia road in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state.

The State Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, revealed this during a press conference held at the state headquarters, Makurdi.

According to the CP, suspected kidnappers had intercepted a commercial bus at about 11 pm along Ankpenchi-Ogobia and abducted all the passengers numbering about 13.

He said, “On 13 September 2026, at about 2300 hours, armed men intercepted a commercial bus travelling along the Ankpenchi-Ogobia axis and abducted 13 persons.

“Following the incident, operatives of the Command immediately commenced coordinated efforts to rescue the victims, resulting in the rescue of four persons while nine others remained in the custody of the kidnappers.

“In the early hours of today, September 18,  2026, at about 0630 hours, operatives of the Command attached to the Violent Crime Response Unit, alongside other tactical teams, who have since Monday, 14/09/2026, been in the search and rescue operations acting on credible intelligence, stormed the camp of the suspected kidnapping syndicate at the Ankpenchi axis of Amla Forest Ohimini LGA.

“The operation resulted in an exchange of gunfire with the kidnappers, during which eight of the remaining victims were successfully rescued. Unfortunately, it was gathered from the victims that one of them, who sustained fatal injuries from the kidnappers during the attack, died in another area of the forest.

The Police boss said that the rescued victims are currently safe and receiving necessary attention, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing members of the syndicate and recover the corpse of the deceased.

On Sunday, the Nigeria Police Force arrested 262 suspects and rescued 27 kidnapped victims during various operations across the country.

The suspects were arrested for offences including kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, banditry, cultism, human trafficking, drug peddling, vandalism and other criminal activities.