Abductors yet to contact families of 17 Benue wedding guests

The abductors of 17 wedding guests from Benue State who were captured while on transit to Illorin in Kwara State are yet to contact their families for any negotiation toward their release. Our correspondent gathered on Tuesday that all the victims were from Gboko LGA of Benue and were travelling to Kwara for a wedding […]

The abductors of 17 wedding guests from Benue State who were captured while on transit to Illorin in Kwara State are yet to contact their families for any negotiation toward their release.

Our correspondent gathered on Tuesday that all the victims were from Gboko LGA of Benue and were travelling to Kwara for a wedding when gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted them along Okene/Ibilo road in Kogi State.

It was learnt that though the incident happened on Thursday, the captors are yet to open talks with families of the victims as at Tuesday afternoon.

A family source said the wedding guests had left Gboko town in Benue in two Coaster buses to at-tend the wedding of the nephew of a popular pastor based in Gboko, Brother Gbile Akanni of the Peace Mission Ministry.

Teres Binjo, a twin brother of one of the kidnap victims told journalists in Makurdi that the kidnap-pers were yet to contact the family, five days after the incident.

Binjo said, “My twin brother, Terkimbir Binjo, is among the 17 people kidnapped along Okene/Ibilo last Thursday.

“They left Gboko that day to attend the wedding ceremony of Brother Gbile Akanni’s relative in Ilor-in but were kidnapped around 4pm that same day.

“This happened on Thursday, and as of this morning (Tuesday) we have not heard from them, though, I heard that they were more than 17 in the bus but two people escaped.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Catherine Anene, said the Benue Command did not have the report and the incident didn’t happen in the state.