Two abducted students from Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), James Michael Anajuwe and Musa Hussein, have been killed by kidnappers.
The first-year students, one studying Information Technology and the other Software Engineering, were part of a group kidnapped by gunmen on May 9, 2024.
Security operatives and local hunters managed to rescue 20 students. However, the two victims were allegedly killed in retaliation for the deaths of some kidnappers during the rescue mission, according to the Nigerian Tribune.
A Non-Governmental Organization, Education For All (E4A), condemned the killings, calling them an act of “callousness” by the kidnappers. In a statement made available to newsmen in Lokoja, signed by the Publicity Secretary of E4A, Nasir Ibrahim, the NGO said, “The murder is the height of callousness by the kidnappers.”
“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 statement read.
E4A also noted the kidnappers’ intent to scare young people from pursuing education. “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 urged the Federal Government to intensify the Safe School Initiative. “
the statement said. “It is unacceptable to lose children whose only offense was embracing education. Our nation must rise to the occasion to arrest the rising insecurity across the country.”
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