KOGI:14 KIDNAPPED UNIVERSITY STUDENTS RESCUED

Fourteen students of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara in Kogi State, abducted by bandits who invaded the institution on Thursday night during their preparationd for their first semester examination billed to commence May 13, 2024 have been rescued.

Open Television reports that the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Bethrand Onuoha, made this known on Sunday in Lokoja, explaining that a combined team of security operatives, including local hunters, who pursued the abductors, successfully rescued the kidnapped students.

The commissioner who commended the local hunters and the conventional security agents for their bravery and gallantry pointed out that the successful rescue operation was made possible by the support of the state governor, Usman Ododo, who is committed to the security of Kogi people. 

He therefore pleaded with residents to report anyone sighted with gun wounds to law enforcement agents.

The statement by the Police Chief reads in part:“A combined team of security operatives, including local hunters, who ran after the bandits, successfully rescued 14 of the kidnapped students. One of the rescued students told us that 24 students were captured. The security operatives will not relent. We are determined to get the remaining students back alive and unhurt,” Onuoha said.

Open Television also reports that the Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo who equally confirmed the rescue, explained that the 14 students were getting the required attention, and expressed joy that the rescue came hours after Governor Usman Ododo visited the institution and assured parents of his readiness to rescue everyone taken.

"Our local vigilante men and security agents engaged the kidnappers in a fierce shootout and the kidnappers fled. Some escaped with gun wounds. They fled and left the kidnapped students who also ran in different directions to avoid being caught up in the fire exchange’, he stated.

‘Many of the students kidnapped, and even other people in captivity, have been rescued and taken to medical facilities for proper attention. Some were rescued in the early hours of today’, the commissioner added.

‘The security agents are currently combing the forests to ensure that all the kidnapped students are found and brought home safely. It is unfortunate, however, that in the sporadic gun battle to rescue the students, a local hunter and a security operative sustained injury. They are currently receiving medical attention’, he revealed.