The Kogi State Government has said some students of the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, Okene, who were kidnapped by gunmen last Thursday have been rescued.
While the number of rescued students remains unknown, the government attributed the rescue operation to the dominant show of firepower by security operatives and local vigilante men over the kidnappers.
This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo.
The statement read, “This is to inform the general public that some of the students abducted by gunmen at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, have been rescued safely by local hunters and other security agents
“Local vigilante men and security agents engaged the kidnappers in a fierce shootout and the kidnappers succumbed to superior fIrepower fled with gun wounds, leaving the kidnapped students who also ran in different directions to avoid being hit
“Many of the students kidnapped and even other people in captivity have been rescued and taken to medical facilities for proper attention, while many others were also rescued in the early hours of today.”
Fanwo added that security agents are “currently combing the forests” to rescue the remaining students in captivity.
Bandits abducted the students who were reading for their upcoming exams on Thursday night, swooping into the university around 9 p.m.
The bandits reportedly came in through the bush, went into three lecture halls and began to shoot into the air to scare the students.
In a statement issued on Friday, Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo had assured the safe return of the abducted students, adding that the government had “activated the security architecture to track the kidnappers and ensure the abducted students are rescued and the abductors apprehended.”
The statement also noted that “nine students” were reported missing as security operatives and local hunters were working to ensure the safe rescue of the abducted students.
On his visit to the school campus, Ododo alleged there was an insider collaboration in the abduction of the nine students.
He said, “We installed CCTV cameras in all the classrooms and the entire perimeter of the university campus vet on the day of the attack, our investigation so far revealed that all the cameras were switched off and this can only be attributed to sabotage by internal collaborators.”
