Two students kidnapped from the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara in Kogi State have been killed by their abductors despite ongoing negotiations with the parents of the students.
Confirming the death of the two students in the hands of the kidnappers, the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Bethrand Onuoha, described the killing as very unfortunate.
The Police Commissioner stated this while speaking with newsmen on the telephone on Sunday, saying that the security operatives were on the trail of the abductors to bring them to book.
The kidnappers on Thursday, May 9, 2024, invaded the university around 9 pm and abducted some students of the institution who were in the classroom preparing for their forthcoming examination.
About 21 students were later rescued while some remained in the custody of the kidnappers.
The school has declared a three-day mourning over the incident. The registrar of the university Olufunke Hudson in a statement said, “It is with deep pain that the Management of the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara hereby declares three days of mourning over the death of two of our students who were kidnapped on Thursday, 9th May and killed on Saturday, 25th May, 2024.
“All activities in the university are to be held low-key from Monday, 27th to Wednesday, 29th May 2024 in memory of our departed students.
“The Management shares in the pains of the parents, family, and colleagues of our dearly beloved deceased students, and we use this medium to condole with them,” she said.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation, Education For All (E4A), has condemned the killing of the two students.
The NGO in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Nasir Ibrahim, and made available to newsmen in Lokoja, stated that the kidnappers intended to scare young people away from going to school.
“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 State Government, though 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 optimistic that they would 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 State.
“We are broken and shattered that despite the efforts of the parents, NGOs and the State Government, we still lost these promising students. We call on the Kogi State Government to work with its Kwara State counterpart to take decisive action against the perpetrators who are said to be hiding in a forest in Kwara, very close to Kogi and Ekiti States.
The NGO commiserated with the families of the lost children, urging the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Federal Ministry of Education to reinvigorate efforts on the Safe School Initiative.
“The painful loss of the two students should provoke the office of the National Security Adviser to work with the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the safety of our schools across the country.
“It is unacceptable to lose children whose only offence was embracing education. Our nation must rise to the occasion to arrest the rising insecurity across the country”, the statement said.
