More than a dozen students traveling to sit university entrance exams were abducted by gunmen in Benue state, north-central Nigeria, the regional governor said late on Thursday. Authorities have not yet identified those responsible.
Police have launched search-and-rescue operations, and officials said no effort will be spared to find the victims. Candidates across the region are taking exams amid a tense atmosphere.
The attack took place on the Makurdi-Otukpo road. Governor Hyacinth Alia described the incident as a cowardly act but did not give an exact figure for those seized; local media reported 17 students missing. A local trader, Mathew Mwasse, told AFP the abduction occurred on Wednesday evening and that one passenger and the driver managed to escape. Maxwell Ogiri, chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, said the victims are mainly young boys and girls traveling to Otukpo and that security forces have been deployed to nearby forests to search for them.
In neighboring Plateau State, security has been increased around examination centres after a recent wave of violent attacks that left at least 30 people dead. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project reported that violence in Plateau rose 71% in 2025 compared with the previous year.
Officials and media commonly use the term bandits to describe armed criminal groups operating mainly in northern Nigeria, many of which carry out kidnappings for ransom. Repeated mass abductions have disrupted education, commerce and travel across wide areas, leaving residents frustrated and questioning the authorities’ ability to curb the threat.
Edited by Rana Taha.