At least 20 victims abducted from Tyomu community in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State have regained their freedom after their families and community members reportedly paid N8 million ransom and supplied foodstuffs and groceries worth more than N500,000 to their captors.

The victims were released on Thursday night in a forest along the Otukpo-Ogbadibo road, near the border with Kogi State, after spending several days in captivity.

Simon Igidi, whose wife was among those abducted, disclosed this to journalists in Makurdi, saying the freed victims arrived in the state capital at about midnight and were immediately taken to hospitals for medical attention.

According to him, an elderly woman among the victims was released on the same Friday they were abducted and eventually returned to her home in Tyomu on Monday evening.

Igidi explained that the remaining 19 victims were released after the ransom was paid and the food items and groceries were provided to the abductors.

He said those freed included eight women from Tyomu, three residents of Vandeikya and nine others from the Wurukum area of Makurdi.

Meanwhile, PureBioTech Nigeria Limited has donated N1 million to support the rehabilitation and welfare of the victims from Tyomu.

The donation was presented to representatives of the community by Alhaji Abdulkadir Mohammed at the company’s premises on Thursday.

Mohammed said the gesture was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative, stressing that the ethanol-producing company considered the humanitarian needs of its host community important.

Similarly, the Chairman of Makurdi Local Government Area, Joseph Keffi, who reportedly visited Tyomu community where most of the victims reside, donated N1.5 million to support the affected families.

However, the Police Public Relations Officer in Benue State, DSP Peter Aondongu, said the command had not received any official report on the release of the victims.