The Kogi State Confluence University of Science and Technology declared a three-day mourning period on Sunday for two students who died in kidnappers’ captivity.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the university’s Registrar, Olufunke Hudson, expressed deep sorrow over the tragic incident.
“It is with deep pain that the management of the Confluence University of Science and Technology, 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,” Hudson said.
Valid View Network reported that armed kidnappers invaded the Osara campus on the night of May 9 and abducted several students.
The students were attending a tutorial class in preparation for their first semester examinations when the attack occurred.
By May 17, security agencies had rescued 21 of the kidnapped students. T
he military reported that the kidnappers abandoned the students during a gunfight.
On May 16, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered the deployment of a police helicopter to Kogi State to aid in the rescue of the remaining students.
However, a non-governmental organization, Education for All, announced on Sunday that two of the remaining students had been killed by the kidnappers.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Nasir Ibrahim, the NGO identified the deceased students as James Michael Anajuwe, a 100-level Information Technology student, and Musa Hussein, a 100-level Software Engineering student.
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“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,” the NGO stated. “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 by security agencies to avoid endangering the lives of the captives. We were very hopeful and optimistic that they would be released at the end of the negotiations. But 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 added.
The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Bertrand Onuoha, confirmed the development. Responding to an inquiry by The PUNCH on Sunday, Onuoha said, “Yes, two of them were found to have been shot this morning.”
Describing the killing of the students as painful, the NGO urged the National Security Adviser and the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the safety of 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,” it said.
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