The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed on Sunday the tragic deaths of two abducted students from Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara.
In a conversation with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lokoja, State Police Commissioner, Bethrand Onuoha expressed his sorrow over the incident, labeling it as deeply unfortunate.
Onuoha did not provide specific details about the killings but assured that security forces were actively pursuing the abductors to ensure justice is served.
The abduction occurred on May 9 at approximately 9 p.m. when the kidnappers stormed the university while students were studying for their upcoming exams on May 13, firing shots into the air and taking several students captive.
Security forces, with the assistance of local hunters, managed to rescue 21 students. However, some students remained in captivity.
The non-governmental organization Education for All codenamed E4A, strongly condemned the killings.
In a statement released in Lokoja, E4A’s publicity secretary, Malam Nasir Ibrahim, described the murders as an act of extreme cruelty.
Ibrahim emphasized that the kidnappers’ actions aimed to deter young people from pursuing their education, which he found profoundly troubling.
“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 Government.
“Although the circumstances of their kidnapping 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 the 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 very hopeful and optimistic that they would be released at the end of the negotiations,” he said.
Ibrahim added, “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 at the university.
“They were allegedly killed at the kidnappers’ hideout in Kwara.
“We are broken and shattered that despite the efforts of the parents, NGOs, and the state government, we still lost these promising students.”
He called on the Kogi government to collaborate with its Kwara counterpart to take decisive action against the perpetrators, who are reportedly hiding in a forest near the borders of Kogi, Kwara, and Ekiti States.
He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and urged the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Federal Ministry of Education to reinvigorate efforts under the Safe School Initiative to prevent such tragedies in the future.
“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,” he said.
