Two abducted students of the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara, Kogi State have been killed by kidnappers amid ransom negotiations, Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr Bethrand Onuoha, has confirmed.
CP Onuoha disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Lokoja, the state’s capital on Sunday, where he described the killing of the students, James Michael Anajuwe, a 100-level Information Technology student and Musa Hussein, a 100-level Software Engineering student of the University as unfortunate.
The Kogi State police chief however assured that the security operatives were doing everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the abductors attacked the school when the students were reading in their classes for examinations at about 9pm on May 9, 2024, shoooting sporadically before abducting some of the students.
While security agencies with the assistance of local hunters had retrieved 21 out of the abducted students, a few students are still reported to be in the abductors’ custody.
The Publicity Secretary a non-governmental organisation, Education For All (E4A), Malam Nasir Ibrahim condemned the killing of the two students despite ongoing ransom negotiations with their parents.
Malam Ibrahim in a statement in Lokoja, maintained that the intent of the kidnappers was to discourage young people from going to school, adding that this is a wake-up call against attackers of educational institutions.
He said, “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.
“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.”
Ibrahim urged the Kogi State Government to partner with its Kwara State counterpart in taking decisive action against the abductors who were reported to be hiding in a forest in the state.
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