Students protest abduction of colleague in Ondo

Scores of undergraduates in Ode Irele, Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State, yesterday took to the streets to protest the abduction of their colleague, Gideon Akindoye.

Akindoye, a student at a higher institution in Kwara State, was kidnapped on his father’s farm located between the border village of Igbobini and Ode Irele last week Monday.

Daily Trust reports that the police have initiated a manhunt for the abductors amidst growing concerns among his friends and colleagues regarding his safety.

Armed with placards bearing various inscriptions, the students, under the auspices of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), demanded the immediate release of Akindoye and his safe return to his family.

Addressing the gathering, the Senate president of the NANS, Henry Olukunomo, expressed concern over the ordeal faced by Akindoye’s parents since his abduction. He emphasised the urgency of securing Akindoye’s release, saying that students want him returned, either dead or alive.

“We are calling on those who kidnapped Comrade Gideon to release him to us. If he is dead, we demand his body for a dignified burial. If he is alive, we urge his immediate release to alleviate his parents’ anguish,” Olukunomo demanded.

He further urged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and security agencies in the state to intervene promptly and ensure the safe rescue of Akindoye.

Mrs Janet Akindoye, the abducted student’s mother, narrated that her son had arrived in Irele the previous Sunday and went to the farm to assist his father with cassava harvesting when he was kidnapped.

Confirming the abduction, the police public relations officer in the state, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, assured the public that detectives had commenced efforts to locate and rescue the abducted student.