By Benue Info-pedia

The Benue State Police Command has clarified reports surrounding the disappearance of a medical doctor in Makurdi, saying the doctor was arrested by security operatives and was not abducted as earlier reported.

The doctor, identified as Dr. Jonah Ogbaji, the Medical Director of Multicare Hospital in Makurdi, was reportedly taken from the hospital on Wednesday night, September 23, while attending to patients. Reports of his alleged abduction subsequently circulated widely on social media and prompted concerns over his whereabouts.

However, in a statement issued on Thursday, the Benue State Police Command said its verification showed that Ogbaji was arrested at his hospital by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad (STS) attached to the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja.

According to the statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Peter Aondongu, the arrest was connected to an ongoing investigation.

“The doctor was not abducted. He was arrested yesterday at his hospital by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad (STS) attached to the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja, in connection with an ongoing investigation.”

The Command said it had received enquiries following reports of the alleged abduction and subsequently verified the circumstances surrounding the doctor’s disappearance.

It nevertheless noted that the specific circumstances of the investigation were not yet known to the Benue State Police Command.

The Police therefore advised members of the public and the media to disregard reports describing the incident as an abduction or kidnapping, describing those reports as false.

How the abduction report emerged
Before the police clarification, reports had emerged that armed men arrived at the hospital on Wednesday night and took the doctor away.

According to accounts attributed to members of his family, Ogbaji was attending to patients at about 9 p.m. when the men arrived in a vehicle and took him from the premises. His family reportedly became concerned after efforts to establish his whereabouts at police stations in Makurdi did not immediately provide answers.

Those accounts formed the basis of the initial reports that the doctor had been abducted.

The police clarification has now established a different account: that the men who took Ogbaji were operatives of the Special Tactical Squad acting in connection with an investigation.

However, the police have not publicly disclosed what the investigation concerns, and the Command has specifically said that the details are not yet known to it. There is therefore insufficient information at this stage to state what allegations, if any, are involved.

As of Thursday, the police statement confirms that Ogbaji was arrested, but it does not state where he is currently being held, the nature of the investigation, whether any offence has been alleged against him, or whether he has been charged before a court.

Those details remain important for a complete understanding of the incident.

For now, the confirmed position from the Benue State Police Command is that Dr. Ogbaji was arrested, not abducted, by STS operatives attached to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja.

Benue Info-pedia will continue to distinguish between confirmed information, accounts from affected persons and information that remains unverified as further details emerge.