By: Manoah Kikekon
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The Benue State Police Command has confirmed the release of 20 students from the Universities of Maiduguri and Jos, who were kidnapped by gunmen in the north-central area on August 15.
The kids were released late Friday night, according to the Command's Public Relations Officer, Sewuese Anene, who verified the news to NAN at 11:15 p.m. in Makurdi.
"The victims were discharged. Details will be provided tomorrow (Saturday) morning, he said.
According to West Africa Weekly, the students were abducted in Otukpo while on their way to Enugu for the annual Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS) convention. A House Officer is escorting them.
According to West Africa Weekly, the students were abducted in Otukpo while on their way to Enugu for the annual Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS) convention. A House Officer who was with them was also detained.
The students were claimed to be travelling in a convoy of two buses from the north of the country when they were ambushed on Thursday evening around 5:30 p.m.
The kidnappers wanted a ransom of ₦50 million to rescue their hostages, just a few days after their abduction.
In the last six years, the federal route from Otukpo through Ugbokolo in the Okpokwu Local Government Area to Odoba and Otukpa in the Ogbadibu Local Government Area has grown notoriously perilous.
In the last six years, the federal route from Otukpo through Ugbokolo in the Okpokwu Local Government Area to Odoba and Otukpa in the Ogbadibu Local Government Area has grown notoriously perilous due to a chronic kidnapping ring operating in the area's extensive forests and ungoverned regions.
Channels Television said that a few weeks ago, the management team of Benue State Polytechnic Ugbokolo, led by the Rector, was kidnapped along that axis. This was in addition to several more victims, including Catholic priests, and numerous other kidnapping cases involving motorists, with little or no effort made to contain the threat.
The recent police rescue came after widespread criticism of Nigeria's security measures, in which authorities appear to be quick to track down and detain protestors and journalists while struggling to fight terrorists and kidnappers who operate with impunity.
The statement occurred on a day when West Africa Weekly's editor-in-chief, David Hundeyin, said that the police force was able to uncover, follow, and abduct Nigeria's renowned anonymous whistleblower, PIDOM.