MAKURDI, Nigeria (FN), Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to reschedule examinations for eight Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates who were recently abducted while traveling.
Alia made the appeal on Sunday while hosting the victims at the Old Banquet Hall of Government House in Makurdi, describing them as “victims of circumstance who should not be neglected.” The governor said the candidates had endured trauma at the hands of kidnappers and should be given another opportunity to sit for the test.
The students were among passengers abducted last week from a Benue Links commercial bus on the Makurdi–Otukpo road. Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke later rescued 13 of the victims, including the UTME candidates, after tracking the kidnappers to their hideout.
Kidnappings along highways in Benue and other parts of Nigeria have become increasingly common, with criminal gangs targeting travelers for ransom. The ordeal has raised concerns about the impact of insecurity on education, particularly for students preparing for national examinations.
Governor Alia assured the victims of government support and called on JAMB to consider their plight in the interest of fairness. “These young people should not be punished for circumstances beyond their control,” he said.
