The Kogi State Government has announced the successful rescue of an additional six students, bringing the total number of rescued kidnapped students from Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTEC), Osara, Okene, to twenty.
Last week, unknown gunmen suspected to be bandits invaded CUSTEC late at night and abducted some students. Earlier reports indicated that some of the students had been rescued.
In a statement released on Tuesday by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, it was confirmed that six more students have been rescued. However, four students are still missing.
According to the Commissioner, the intense gunfight between security forces and the kidnappers led to the kidnappers being overpowered and abandoning the students. Some of the kidnappers managed to escape with serious injuries.
Previously, the police had stated that 14 students had been rescued, and the families of the recently rescued six students have confirmed their safe return home.
Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State has expressed profound gratitude to the Joint Forces involved in the rescue operations and urged them to persist in their search until all students are accounted for.
“We wish to assure the public that the security architecture around our schools has been recalibrated for efficiency and early warning alarm to prevent future occurrences,” he added.
