Eight (8) persons out of the 15 kidnap victims on the Makurdi Otukpo road have been confirmed as JAMB candidates.
Benue State Governor Rev Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia PhD confirmed this on Sunday during a press briefing and reception for the remaining 13 victims rescued early Sunday morning at Government House.
Today, all the remaining 13 kidnap victims were rescued by the security agents with the cooperation of the communities.
The Governor also called upon JAMB to look into the case of the eight students and reschedule their exams.
“I call on JAMB to look into the case of the eight young students and reschedule dates for them to write their examination
Governor Alia also commended the Inspector General of Police Olatunji Disu and heads of other security agencies for their efforts in rescuing the victims.
He further also directed the state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Ogwuche, to take the victims to the State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi for proper medical check-up and treatment before handing them over to their respective families.
Initial JAMB and Police denial
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board JAMB on Saturday came out to refute claims that some of the kidnapped individuals were on their way to Otukpo to partake in the examinations.
JAMB’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin went as far as claiming that the kidnapped victims were participants in an ongoing police recruitment exercise.
The Police in a separate statement on Saturday also said that the kidnapped individuals were not confirmed to be JAMB candidates.