From Attah Ede, Makurdi, and Dan Amasingha, Minna

Fresh fears over the worsening insecurity across the country emerged on Tuesday as more than 65 people were reported abducted in separate incidents in Benue and Niger states, triggering a road blockade by angry residents in Makurdi and renewed calls for intensified security operations.

In Benue State, thousands of women and youths from the Tyo-Mu community in Makurdi Local Government Area barricaded the Makurdi-Gboko Road, protesting the abduction of 18 women who were reportedly kidnapped while travelling to attend a burial ceremony in Kogi State.

The protesters, who gathered in the early hours of Tuesday, blocked vehicular movement around the Tyo-Mu axis, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded for several hours.

Community sources said the women were travelling along the route when they were waylaid by suspected kidnappers around the boundary between Adoka in Benue State and Ankpa in Kogi State.

The abductors were said to have initially demanded ₦30 million for the release of the victims. The community reportedly raised and paid ₦3 million, but the women were not released.

The development sparked outrage, with protesters demanding that the victims be rescued alive and unhurt. Security personnel, including military operatives, were deployed to the area as tension mounted between the protesters and security forces attempting to reopen the highway.

Motorists travelling between Makurdi, Gboko, Katsina-Ala and other parts of the state were forced to park along the road during the protest.

The Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Internal Security, Joseph Har, confirmed that an abduction had occurred, although he said he was yet to establish the exact number of victims.

Har said security agencies had been alerted and were working to locate and rescue the victims, adding that the Divisional Police Officer in Adoka and security personnel in surrounding areas were involved in the operation.

He cautioned against night travel along the route, describing it as a security concern.

According to him, rescue operations must be conducted carefully because the location from which kidnappers make telephone calls may differ from where their victims are being held.

The Benue State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Solomon Iorpev, also confirmed the incident. He said the affected women had hired Ejifa Travel Services to transport them to the burial in Kogi State.

Iorpev said the incident was brought to the attention of the authorities after the affected community commenced the protest. He added that the Commissioner of Police was liaising with the Transport Company and families of the victims to trace the abductees.

He urged the families to remain calm while security agencies worked to secure the victims’ release.

47 Abducted in Niger

In Niger State, no fewer than 47 people, including several women, were reportedly abducted while harvesting groundnuts around Tungan Rimi and Mukura communities in Mariga Local Government Area.

The victims were reportedly taken on Sunday, September 27, and moved through adjoining communities towards forested areas.

Chairman of Mariga Local Government Area, Alhaji Aliyu Bagga Muhamadu, confirmed the abduction and said one of the women reportedly gave birth while in captivity.

He said the abductors had contacted some relatives and demanded ₦2 million for each victim.

Bagga added that military personnel and local vigilantes had been mobilised for a rescue operation. A vigilante was reportedly injured after security personnel and local forces confronted suspected bandits around Alibani village.

The abductors were subsequently said to have moved through the Mangoro-Wamba axis towards the Bariki Forest, also known as Ma’undu, where the victims were believed to be held.

The Niger State Police Command separately confirmed that more than 20 people were abducted at Mukura village in Kasuwan-Garba District of Mariga LGA on September 27.

Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said joint security rescue efforts were ongoing.

The different figures provided by the Mariga council chairman and the police indicate that authorities were still working to establish the precise number of people abducted and their whereabouts.

Senate Demands Rescue

The fresh abductions came as Senate President Godswill Akpabio called on security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue citizens held captive by armed groups across the country.

Resuming plenary after the Senate’s annual recess, Akpabio said the upper chamber would use its legislative, appropriation and oversight powers to support security institutions and protect vulnerable communities.

He said the Senate could not consider itself free while Nigerians remained in captivity, urging security agencies to pursue the rescue of abducted citizens with renewed vigour.

Akpabio also called for stronger responses to flooding, the rising cost of living and other challenges confronting Nigerians.

With political activities building ahead of the 2027 general elections, he urged political actors to reject violence, intimidation, religious profiling and divisive rhetoric.

The latest incidents in Benue and Niger have once again placed the safety of rural communities, farmers and travellers under intense scrutiny, as families of the abducted continue to await the safe return of their loved ones.

The death of 37 detainees in the Nigeria Security  and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) detention facility in Minna, Niger State, is not a mere operational accident. It is a failure of leadership, and leadership must take responsibility.

Those who met their untimely deaths were suspected illegal miners – mostly young men, arrested during operations on September 15 and 16, 2026, around M.

I. Wushishi / Lukoto axis. In less than 24 hours, on the morning of September 17, 37 out of the 67 arrested suspects were found stone dead inside the NSCDC custody. Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago confirmed it: _”This morning we woke up to the news that about 37 persons died in the custody of the civil defence here in Minna. It’s so sad, it’s so tragic.”_

In a swift reaction, the Federal Government announced the suspension of the Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye. Additionally, 20 other personnels were also suspended. That is not accountability. That is scapegoating.

The Commandant-General, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi was first appointed on February 18, 2021, by former President Muhammadu Buhari. On February 27, 2026, President Bola Tinubu renewed his tenure for another five years.

He has led the Corps for over five years. It means he had five years to reform detention procedures, build proper cells, train personnel on human rights and custody management. That is why it is unpardonable that for all these years, 67 men would be crammed into a single cell with no ventilation, according to a survivor’s accounts.

If after five years and a fresh mandate, the Corps still operates a cell that kills 37 Nigerians in one night, there is no likelihood of any innovation that Audi will usher in another tenure of five years.

It is very clear that the gruesome death of the 47 suspects is due to the failure of command responsibility. The Commandant General cannot lead for five years and claim ignorance of detention facilities and how detainees are kept. Consequently, he should take the route of global best practice, which dictates that heads of agencies resign when mass deaths occur in custody. The suspension of a state commandant does not erase the culpability of the national command that posted him.

There is a laughable dimension as the Niger Command has blamed the deaths to a “disease outbreak.” But a survivor told the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who was on a condolence visit that a substance was sprayed by one of the NSCDC personnel, causing them to start sneezing and coughing.

“When they brought us into the cell, they sprayed something and locked us up. It was after that we started coughing and sneezing, but we did not know what they sprayed.” He told the Minister.

There was yet another blame that pointed to overcrowding and suffocation, _”there was no ventilation, everywhere became stuffy, people started collapsing one after another.”_

There is also a very shameful angle of bribery to the bizarre incident. Families of the deceased said their wards were healthy a day earlier when they brought them food. A mother alleged the NSCDC officials demanded N100,000 to release her detained son.

Whether true or not, this points to a detention system that has become transactional. This is a system failure that can only be cured by new leadership.

With all the contradictory stories, with 37 bodies in different decomposing states, a few hours after death, the top leadership has lost credibility to lead an investigation.

In order to allow for a credible investigation, the man who controls all records, all personnel, and all detention facilities should immediately give way. He cannot on moral grounds supervise his own probe.

The NSCDC’s job is to protect lives. And when 37 unarmed citizens die in what ought to be protective custody pending investigations and prosecution, the security outfit has lost the moral authority to protect anyone. Therefore, the protests that erupted in Minna, with properties worth billions of Naira destroyed, are enough proof that public trust is broken.

Audi had a chance to reform the Corps in his first term. He was given a second chance in February 2026. And the tragedy came six months into the second chance, leading to a conjecture as to whether he brought anything new or not. As it now stands, the best option is for him to tow the path of resignation. After all, resignation is not a sign of guilt — it is a sign of honour.

The Cross River Police Command and the University of Cross River State (UniCross) have resolved to deepen their collaboration to strengthen campus security and tackle cultism and other emerging threats.

The Command’s Spokesman, Sunday Eitokpah, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Calabar on Monday.

According to him, the resolution followed a strategic security meeting between the Commissioner of Police, Ajo Ordue, and the Vice-Chancellor of UniCross, Prof.

Francisca Bassey, at the command headquarters.

Eitokpah said the meeting was aimed at reviewing and strengthening the security architecture around the university, with particular attention to the safety of students, staff and other members of the academic community.

He quoted Ordue as assuring the university management of increased police visibility and security presence within and around its campuses.

The commissioner said the deployment would be driven by intelligence gathering, information sharing, and rapid response to security threats.

He also called for stronger coordination between the police and the university’s internal security structures to ensure early identification and prevention of criminal activities.

Ordue urged students and staff to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements, cult-related activities, recruitment attempts, and other security concerns to the appropriate authorities.

He said the command would further strengthen the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) programme within the university as part of efforts to prevent cultism and other forms of youth-related criminality.

The commissioner said sustained engagement with students and other members of the university community remained critical to preventing crime and maintaining peace on campus.

Responding, Bassey commended the command for its continued partnership with the university and its efforts to strengthen security around the institution.

She pledged the university’s continued cooperation with the police, saying closer collaboration was necessary to effectively confront cultism and other emerging security challenges.

The vice-chancellor called for further strengthening of the partnership between the two institutions to safeguard lives and property and create an environment conducive to teaching, learning and research.

The commissioner reaffirmed the command’s commitment to working with the university and other stakeholders to ensure a safe and secure academic environment.

He said effective campus security remained a shared responsibility requiring constant vigilance, timely information and sustained collaboration.(NAN)