The PUNCH reports that the bodies of three young men have been recovered at the Benue river after they were declared missing on Boxing Day in the Buruku area of Benue State.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Benue made this known in a statement made available to The PUNCH in Makurdi on Thursday.

The statement signed by the Deputy Commander of the Corps, Ejelikwu Michael, gave the names of the victims as: Andonso Iorliam, 20; Chiater Achi, 18; and Aondongo Gbir, 30.

Michael said the Command had on Christmas Eve received a report on the gathering of hundreds of youths who were having a picnic and carnival at the River Buruku, noting that such activities had been banned by the state government and the Tiv traditional council.

“The Command on the strength of intelligence deployed men to the location on the 25th December, 2021. We also collaborated with sister agencies, to maintain law and order, and if possible stop the carnival from holding the carnival.

“But the number of the youths outnumbered security officials.

“However, on Sunday, 26th December, 2021, we received unsubstantiated reports about missing persons. We were able to confirm the report on Monday 27th, December, 2021 after three dead bodies were recovered by a search team of divers at about 1000hours,” the statement added.

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