Kogi State Govt Rescues Remaining Kidnapped CUSTECH Students

The government of Kogi State has confirmed the successful rescue of the last eight abducted students from Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara.

The announcement was made by Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi Commissioner for Information and Communications, in a statement released in Lokoja on Sunday.

It was reported that the students were found in a forest in Kwara State, thanks to a joint operation with the state government. The campus had previously been targeted by suspected bandits who kidnapped 21 students. However, Bernand Onuoha, the Kogi State Police Commissioner, confirmed the tragic death of two students on Sunday, May 26.

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In a statement, Kingsley Fanwo, the state Commissioner for Information, said that the governor had ordered full support for the recovery of the students and their parents, while measures were being implemented to enhance the safety of Kogi.

A subsequent statement from the Kwara State Police Command on Sunday revealed that the combined efforts of the police, the office of the National Security Adviser, the military, and local vigilantes resulted in the successful rescue of eight students, consisting of five females and three males.

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The statement noted, “The Government of Kogi State expresses profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for directing the mobilisation of resources to ensure the rescue of the kidnapped students. We also thank the National Security Adviser immensely for his commitment to the release of the students and the general security of the state.”

It continued, “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 and men of the Armed Forces who put in their best as well as the pilots, did a wonderful job to support us in reuniting the kidnapped students with their families.”

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The statement also quoted Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo expressing his deep appreciation to his Kwara State counterpart, Governor AbdulRahmam AbdulRazak, for his personal commitment, cooperation, and support that contributed to the successful operation resulting in the rescue of the remaining kidnapped students.

The statement added, “The Kwara State Governor showed the reason he is effectively leading the Nigerian Governors Forum. His actions have also reinforced the Kogi/Kwara cooperation and unity of purpose.”

It concluded, "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.

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"Kogi has domesticated the Child Rights Act and we will defend the right of our children to quality education. In Kogi State, education is free up to the secondary school level. We also pay the registration fees for our students to write all internal and external examinations with a budgetary allocation that is way above the UNESCO benchmark for education.

“All of us must come together to defeat banditry, kidnapping, and any form of criminality in our society,” he added.