A rescued candidate of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Agatha Buter, has narrated the harrowing experience she and other passengers endured after armed men attacked a Benue Links bus along the Makurdi–Otukpo highway.
Agatha was among passengers abducted last Wednesday while travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo in an 18-seater bus. Eight of the victims were candidates heading to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) when they were seized by the attackers.
Following their release, the victims were taken to the Benue State Government House, where they were presented to Governor Hyacinth Alia.
‘My Ordeal’
Recounting her time in captivity, Agatha said the victims were subjected to intense fear, intimidation, and physical abuse.
“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 noted 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 alleged that their captors were armed herdsmen operating from a forest settlement. She added that conditions in captivity were harsh, with little access to food and clean water.
“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.
Describing the experience as deeply traumatic, she said it felt unreal and left the victims emotionally shaken.
Agatha, however, expressed gratitude to security agencies and the Benue State Government, noting that their intervention played a key role in securing their freedom.
