Kogi rescues remaining students abducted from CUSTECH

The Kogi state government says eight more abducted students of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH) have regained their freedom.

Last month, 32 students of CUSTECH were abducted within the school premises while preparing for their exams.

The state government initially rescued four of the abducted students, followed by another 16.

Two victims reportedly escaped and eight more have now been rescued, bringing the number of students who regained their freedom to 30.

Kingsley Fanwo, Kogi commissioner for information and communication, confirmed this in a statement on Sunday.

He said two of the students were killed by the kidnappers after the government’s decision not to pay the ransom demanded.

Fanwo said the state government will fully support the recovery of the rescued students and their parents.

The statement appreciated security personnel and government officials for cooperating and ensuring the release of the students.

“The government of Kogi state expresses profound gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for directing the mobilization of resources to ensure the rescue of the kidnapped students,” Fanwo said.

“We also thank the national security adviser immensely for his commitment to the release of the students and the general security of the state.

“The chief of army staff, the chief of naval staff, the chief of air staff, the director general of DSS, the inspector general of police, and all the officers of the armed forces as well as the pilots did a wonderful job to support us in reuniting the kidnapped students with their families.

“Now that the remaining students have been rescued, our administration will continue the drive to recalibrate our security architecture and pay uncompromising attention to the safe school initiative.

“As the state with the lowest out-of-school children in the north, we have put structures in place to keep our schools safe to ensure every child is not deprived of his or her right to education.

“We urge our citizens to always volunteer intelligence to security agencies to enable them to prevent crime. This is safer, cheaper and better for us all. All of us must come together to defeat banditry, kidnapping and any form of criminality in our society.”