Suspected Terrorists Abduct 18 Sokoto Health College Students Travelling To Oyo, Kill Bus Driver

Suspected terrorists have abducted about 18 students of Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto State, who were travelling to their hometowns in Oyo State, killing the driver of the chartered bus conveying them.

The incident reportedly occurred within the past 48 hours along the route to Oyo State, with the driver allegedly killed at the scene.

A youth leader from Oke-Ogun, who confirmed the incident, said the victims were not students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS), as earlier reported.

According to him, the students were travelling in a chartered bus from Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto, to Oke-Ogun, particularly Igboho in Oyo State.

“Sadly, the unfortunate incident is being confirmed by me because I’m from Oke-Ogun too, and our people have confirmed that it truly happened in the past 48 hours.

“But it wasn’t a bus conveying UDUS students. It was a bus taking students from Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto, to Oke-Ogun, Igboho to be precise.

“The driver was killed and all the students were kidnapped. They have reached the Mokwa side,” the youth leader said.

He further disclosed that the driver was killed at the scene and his remains were buried on Saturday.

Other sources familiar with the incident told SaharaReporters that the number of abducted students could be as many as 18.

The sources said the students were travelling in a chartered bus arranged by their school to convey them to their respective hometowns in Oyo State.

They were reportedly taken away by the assailants after the driver was killed.

The reported movement of the abducted students towards the Mokwa axis has raised concerns among residents and relatives of the victims, as the area has previously witnessed attacks and abductions along major roads.

The latest incident comes barely days after 19 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members were kidnapped by gunmen in Imo State.

The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom when gunmen reportedly attacked their two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, on Thursday.

Isiah Akpan, Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, said the abductors demanded N50 million for each victim, putting the total ransom at N950 million.