Kogi govt vows to go after killers of abducted university students

The Kogi State Government has vowed to go after the killers of the two abducted students of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara.

A statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said the government “would do everything possible to avert a future occurrence of the tragic development and strengthen security strategies.”

“We mourn our departed champions. Terror is cowardice, for only a coward will attack those seeking knowledge in schools,” he said.

Abduction

Bandits stormed the school late on 9th May, shooting sporadically into the air before abducting some students, 21 of whom have been rescued, according to the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command, Bethrand Onuoha.

Mr Onuoha on Sunday confirmed the killing of two of the students by their abductors, describing their killing as very unfortunate.

“Killers won’t go unpunished.”

In a statement later on Sunday, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said the killers of the two students will not go unpunished.

He said the state government is in deep shock and is heartbroken over the development.

He added that the state government was all out to rescue all the students, unfortunately, only 21 have been rescued alive.

Mr Fanwo said the state government had mobilised security operatives, including local hunters and conventional security forces, to rescue the remaining students. The kidnappers contacted the families, and while the dialogue for their release was ongoing, the students were killed.

“This is an attack on us as a state, and the killers of our students will not go unpunished. They killed the students at their hideout in Kwara State. We are currently working with security agencies to see how their remaining captives will be released,” he said in a statement.

He added that the Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, has also opened dialogue with governors of the neighbouring states on how to make the hideouts of the criminals uncomfortable for them.

He appreciated the governors of Kwara and Ekiti States for their cooperation “and readiness to rid the evil forest of criminals.”

The statement reads in part: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. The state government will support them in every way possible in this dark hour of grief. We also sympathise with the CUSTECH community and the communities of the affected students.

“As a government and a people, we will do everything possible to avert any possible future occurrence and strengthen strategies to ward off evil from our state. We mourn our departed champions. Terror is cowardice for only a coward will attack those seeking knowledge in schools.”