Suspected terrorists have abducted 18 students from Gamji College of Health Technology in Sokoto State, Nigeria, who were traveling to their hometowns in Oyo State. The incident occurred within the past 48 hours along the route to Oyo State. The driver of the chartered bus was allegedly killed at the scene. According to a youth leader from Oke-Ogun, the students were traveling to Igboho in Oyo State when the incident happened.
The youth leader confirmed that the victims were not students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS), as earlier reported. He stated that the students were traveling in a chartered bus arranged by their school to convey them to their respective hometowns in Oyo State. The bus was heading to Oke-Ogun, specifically Igboho, when the abduction occurred. The driver was killed, and his remains were buried on Saturday.
Sources familiar with the incident confirmed that the number of abducted students could be as many as 18. The students were reportedly taken away by the assailants after the driver was killed. The reported movement of the abducted students towards the Mokwa axis has raised concerns among residents and relatives of the victims, as the area has previously witnessed attacks and abductions along major roads.
This incident comes barely days after 19 corps members were kidnapped by gunmen in Imo State. The victims were traveling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom when gunmen reportedly attacked their two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State. The kidnapping of the corps members and the Sokoto health college students has raised concerns about the security situation in Nigeria.
In a related incident, Isiah Akpan, the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, said the abductors had demanded N50 million for each victim of the Imo State kidnapping, putting the total ransom at N950 million. Although there is no information on the ransom demands for the Sokoto health college students, the incident has added to the growing concerns about kidnappings and terrorism in Nigeria.
Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, reacted to the incident, saying it reinforced his longstanding position that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) had “outlived its usefulness in its present form.” He called for the immediate suspension of the scheme and its eventual abolition, proposing that corps members should be allowed to serve within their states of origin.
The kidnapping of the 18 Sokoto health college students has raised concerns about the security situation in Nigeria, particularly in the areas where the incidents occurred. The incident has also highlighted the need for the government to take measures to ensure the safety of citizens, particularly students and corps members, who are often targets of kidnappers and terrorists. Authorities have not commented on the incident.
Key points
- 18 students from Gamji College of Health Technology in Sokoto State were abducted by suspected terrorists while traveling to Oyo State.
- The bus driver was killed at the scene of the abduction.
- The incident has raised concerns about the security situation in Nigeria, particularly in areas where kidnappings and terrorism are prevalent.
