By Ben Adaji, Jalingo
At least thirteen passengers escaped from the clutches of suspected kidnappers, while three others, including a 13-year-old student, were abducted by gunmen on Monday evening along the Chinkai-Kente Road in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The incident occurred at about 6:00 p.m. as a commercial bus conveying 16 passengers and a driver from Abuja to Taraba State was ambushed by heavily armed men just one kilometre from Chinkai village.
According to eyewitness accounts, the passengers were forcefully dragged into the bush at gunpoint. However, the situation changed when troops of 6 Brigade, Sector 3, Operation Whirl Stroke responded swiftly and gave chase. The sudden military intervention disrupted the attackers, allowing 13 passengers to escape.
Despite the rescue efforts, three victims were taken away, including Miss Echon’emo Solomon Muya, a 13-year-old student of Christ High School, Karu, Nasarawa State.
Reliable sources told National Update that the victims were released on Tuesday following the payment of ransom. A parent of one of the victims confirmed the ransom payment but declined to disclose the amount.
One of the victims who escaped recounted the terrifying experience:
“They were heavily armed and spoke the Fulani language. Just seeing them, we knew they were Fulani. They stopped our bus and forced us into the bush. When they noticed soldiers were pursuing them, they panicked and couldn’t coordinate. That’s how many of us managed to escape.”
National Update also gathered that the same Chinkai-Kente road has witnessed similar incidents. On July 3, 2025, Engineer Joshua Saleh, a lecturer at Taraba State University (TSU), Jalingo, and several others were also kidnapped in the area. Saleh was later rescued in a joint operation by the Nigerian Army and the State Security Service (SSS).
Efforts to get an official statement from the Taraba State Police Command were unsuccessful as Police Public Relations Officer, James Lashen, did not respond to calls as of press time.