Kidnappers Free 6 Mourners After Collecting N2.5 Million Ransom in Benue

(Kidnappers. Photo Credit: The New York Times)
Kidnappers have released six people who were abducted while taking a dead woman's body for burial in Benue State.

Sources say their families paid ₦2.5 million to secure their freedom.

The six were seized at about 8 p.m. on Friday along Adoka Road in Otukpo Local Government Area.

They were travelling to Okpoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area.

The group included the woman's husband, who was carrying her remains from Kano, where she died.

The gunmen reportedly left the corpse on the highway and demanded N15 million for the captives.

A source told a reporter that the six regained their freedom in the early hours of Wednesday after the ₦2.5 million was paid.

The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, confirmed the release, saying the victims were freed between Tuesday night and early Wednesday.

He did not comment on the ransom.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Peter Aondongu, said he had not yet received a report of the release.