Benue Police have debunked reports that Dr Jonah Ogbaji was abducted, confirming his arrest by Abuja-based Special Tactical Squad operatives.
The Benue State Police Command has dismissed reports that Dr Jonah Ogbaji, Medical Director of Multi Care Hospital in Makurdi, was abducted by armed men, clarifying that the medical practitioner was arrested by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad (STS) attached to the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja.
The clarification followed growing concern over the whereabouts of Ogbaji after his family reportedly became unable to establish where he had been taken.
According to the Police Command, the incident was not a case of kidnapping or abduction as initially reported. Instead, the doctor was taken into custody by police operatives as part of an ongoing investigation.
The Command made its position known through a statement issued by the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Peter Orchia Aondongu.
Aondongu said the Command had received enquiries from the media and members of the public concerning reports that the medical director had been abducted from his hospital in Makurdi.
He explained that the Command subsequently made checks into the circumstances surrounding the incident and established that Ogbaji had been arrested.
“Upon verification, the report is false. The doctor was not abducted. Operatives of the Special Tactical Squad (STS), attached to the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja, arrested him yesterday at his hospital in connection with an ongoing investigation,” the statement said.
The police spokesperson, however, stopped short of providing further information about the investigation.
Aondongu said the Benue State Police Command was not yet aware of the specific circumstances surrounding the matter, including details of the investigation being conducted by the Abuja-based tactical team.
The Command therefore urged members of the public and the media to disregard reports describing Ogbaji’s arrest as a kidnapping incident.
The police clarification came after an account from the doctor’s daughter, Patience Ogbaji, who had earlier expressed concern over the circumstances surrounding her father’s disappearance from the hospital.
Patience reportedly said her father was at the hospital attending to patients when a group of armed men arrived at the facility at about 9pm.
According to her account, the men claimed to be security operatives before taking the medical director away from the hospital.
She said the men arrived in a Toyota Sienna vehicle and subsequently left the premises with her father.
The family’s inability to immediately establish where Ogbaji had been taken reportedly heightened their concern and led them to seek assistance from law enforcement authorities.
Patience said members of the family visited several police stations in Makurdi while trying to establish whether Ogbaji had been taken into police custody.
She explained that hospital workers initially assumed that the men were taking the doctor to a police station because they had introduced themselves as security personnel.
“He was on duty, and they took him. Some armed men claimed they were police officers, but so far no station has claimed to have seen him,” she said.
The initial account consequently raised fears within the family that the medical director might have been abducted.
However, the latest statement from the Benue Police Command has provided a different account of what happened at the hospital.
The Command confirmed that Ogbaji was taken away by security operatives but identified the personnel as members of the Special Tactical Squad attached to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja.
The STS is a tactical police unit involved in specialised operations, while the Force Intelligence Department handles intelligence-related activities within the Nigeria Police Force.
In this case, however, the Benue Command did not disclose what prompted the investigation involving Ogbaji or the allegations, if any, being examined by the police.
It also did not indicate how long the investigation had been ongoing or whether the doctor would be transferred to Abuja.
The absence of those details means that the reason for Ogbaji’s arrest remains unclear based on the information contained in the police statement.
The development also highlights the confusion that can arise when individuals are taken into custody by security personnel without their families immediately knowing the identity of the agency involved or their destination.
For Ogbaji’s family, the police clarification provides confirmation that he was taken by law enforcement personnel rather than unknown kidnappers.
Nevertheless, the family may still be seeking further information about the circumstances of the arrest and the investigation involving the doctor.
The Police Command maintained that reports describing the incident as an abduction were inaccurate and urged the public not to rely on such reports.
The clarification also effectively changes the nature of the incident from a suspected kidnapping case to a police investigation involving the medical director.
While the Command has confirmed Ogbaji’s arrest, it has not released details of the case being investigated.
Until such information is officially provided by the relevant authorities, the specific reason for his arrest remains undisclosed.
The police have therefore sought to put an end to speculation surrounding the doctor’s whereabouts by confirming that he was arrested by STS operatives at his hospital.
The development is expected to draw further attention to the case as members of Ogbaji’s family and the public await additional information about the investigation and his status in police custody.
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