By Emmanuel Thomas l Wednesday, Sept 30, 2026
MAKURDI — Commuters and motorists traveling along the busy Makurdi-Gboko Road were stranded for hours on Saturday as angry residents of Tyomu community in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State mounted heavy road blockades to protest the violent abduction of 18 mourners.
The victims, predominantly women, were ambushed and dragged into the forest by heavily armed gunmen on Friday evening, September 25, 2026. They were traveling in a convoy to Kogi State to attend the burial ceremony of a relative when the attackers struck along the notoriously volatile Makurdi-Naka-Adoka-Ankpa Road, shortly after the vehicle passed through the Adoka axis.
The news of the mass kidnapping sent shockwaves through the Tyomu community, prompting youth and women to storm the highway in the early hours of Saturday. Carrying fresh palm fronds and chanting songs of grief, the demonstrators erected makeshift barricades across the primary transit artery, completely halting commercial and private transportation between Makurdi and Gboko.
Stranded travelers watched helplessly as community members demanded immediate and decisive action from both the state government and federal security agencies to track down the gunmen and secure the safe release of the captives.
Tension in the community escalated after the abductors made phone contact with families of the victims to demand a total ransom of ₦30 million.
Determined to save their loved ones, family and community members hastily organized a fundraising effort, successfully pooling together ₦3 million. However, community sources revealed that upon receiving the partial payment, the kidnappers reneged on their promise to free the captives, insisting that the full ₦3 million-per-head ransom balance must be delivered before any victim is set free.
The refusal of the bandits to release the women despite receiving the initial funds sparked the highway protest, as desperate families accused the government of leaving rural communities at the mercy of criminal syndicates.
Government and Security Reaction
Reacting to the incident, the Special Adviser on Security and Internal Affairs to Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia, Chief Joseph Har, confirmed the kidnapping incident. He, however, noted that security officials were still working to establish the precise number of victims involved.
”The incident has been formally reported to the relevant security agencies,” Har stated. “The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Adoka, alongside joint security operatives in surrounding communities, is actively coordinating intelligence and search operations to locate the victims and track down the perpetrators.”
Har appealed to the protesting Tyomu residents for calm, reassuring the public that the Benue State Government remains fully committed to working with security agencies to resolve the crisis and ensure the safe return of the kidnapped mourners.
The latest attack highlights the persistent security challenges plaguing the highway network connecting Benue and Kogi States.
The Makurdi-Naka-Adoka axis has long been identified by security experts and commuters as a high-risk security corridor vulnerable to armed banditry, highway robbery, and targeted kidnappings for ransom.
Over the past three years, the North-Central region of Nigeria, particularly Benue State, has grappled with complex security threats ranging from communal clashes to coordinated highway ambushes by armed criminal groups.
Despite periodic deployments of military and police tactical units—such as Operation Whirl Stroke—the vast forest stretches bordering Benue and Kogi States continue to offer cover for armed groups operating with relative impunity.
Protesting residents maintained that until concrete security measures are deployed along the transit corridors and their relatives are brought back safely, the fear of traveling on public highways in the region will continue to paralyze daily economic activities.
