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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE]

2 clusters · 14 sources · 12 days · First seen · Last updated

Categories: CRIME

Benue State kidnapping incidents

Entities: Benue State Police Command · Violence Crime Response Unit · Mary Torkuma · Evergreen Samuel · Cletus Nwadiogbu

Overview

In mid‑July 2026, armed men abducted three siblings traveling with their late mother’s body on the Ogobia‑Otukpo Road in Benue State, releasing the driver, the mother’s corpse and one sibling while holding two siblings for a ₦30 million ransom. Security forces were deployed to locate the victims, though officials had not issued a formal statement.

A week later, Benue State police announced the arrest of two women accused of staging a fake kidnapping to extort ransom from the victim’s mother. The suspects were apprehended after an investigation traced them to a Makurdi hotel. Police emphasized that fraudulent kidnapping claims drain resources from genuine emergencies.

The two reports illustrate the broader kidnapping problem in Benue State, ranging from actual abductions with high ransom demands to deceptive schemes that prompt law‑enforcement action.

Timeline

  1. about 20 hours ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources
    Benue State Police Arrest Two Women Over Fake Kidnapping Scheme

    Benue State Police arrested Mary Torkuma and Evergreen Samuel for staging a fake kidnapping to extort money from the victim’s mother, after an investigation by the Violence Crime Response Unit in Makurdi.

  2. 12 days ago

    [CRIME] 12 sources
    Benue State kidnappers hold two siblings, release driver and mother's corpse

    Kidnappers seized three siblings and their driver on the Ogobia–Otukpo Road, later releasing the driver, the mother's corpse and one sibling; two siblings remain held as kidnappers demand ₦30 million.

Sources

blueprint.ng · dailyreport.ng · dailytrust.com · gistmania.com · gwg.ng · idomavoice.com · nationalaccordnewspaper.com · nigerianeye.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · punchng.com · tgnews.com.ng · theglittersonline.com.ng · thepodiummedia.com · thevoicenewsmagazine.com