2 kidnapped Kogi varsity students killed

The police command in Kogi on Sunday confirmed the killing of two of the abducted students of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara.

The State Police Commissioner, Mr Bethrand Onuoha, said this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja.

Onuoha described the killing by their abductors as very unfortunate.

The CP did not, however, give the details of the killing, and said that the security operatives were on the trail of the abductors to bring them to book.

Abductors invaded the school around 9.00 pm on May 9 while the students were studying in their classes ahead of their examinations slated for May 13 and abducted some students, after shooting sporadically into the air.

Although security agencies had rescued 21 of the abducted students with the help of local hunters, a few were still in the hands of the abductors.

Meanwhile, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Education For All (E4A), condemned the killing of two students in spite of ongoing negotiations with the parents to pay ransom for their release.

Malam Nasir Ibrahim, the Publicity Secretary of the NGO said this in a statement in Lokoja.

Ibrahim described the killing as the height of callousness.

He said that the intent of the kidnappers was to scare young people from going to school, which was unfortunate.

“It is sad that the criminals killed two of the students who were not among the 21 rescued through the operation coordinated by the Kogi Government.

“Although the circumstances of their kidnap and being traced to a forest in Kwara State by security agencies are yet to be ascertained. This is sad, callous and a call for collective action against attackers of educational institutions.

“We are aware that parents of the students were negotiating with the kidnappers which slowed down the offensive on the kidnappers by security agencies so as not to endanger the lives of the captives.

“We were very hopeful and optimistic that they will be released at the end of the negotiations,” he said.

Ibrahim added: “Information reaching us shows that the students allegedly killed were James Michael Anajuwe, a 100-level Information Technology student and Musa Hussein, a 100-level Software Engineering student of the University.

“They were allegedly killed at the kidnappers’ hideout in Kwara.

“We are broken and shattered that despite the efforts of the parents, NGOs and the State Government, we still lost these promising students.”

He called on the Kogi government to work with its Kwara counterpart to take decisive action against the perpetrators who were said to be hiding in a forest in Kwara, very close to Kogi and Ekiti States. (NAN)