- N2.5m Paid Per Student
- Ransom Delivered In Enugu, Students Released In Utonkon, Benue
- Students, Families On The Way To Abuja For Medical Check-up, Press Conference
By Amos Aar
THE TWENTY (20) medical students from the University of Jos and University of Maiduguri who were abducted last week, Thursday, August 15, 2024 along Otukpo-Enugu highway in Benue State have been freed by their abductors.
National Record gathered from reliable sources that the students regained freedom following the payment of N50 million ransom by families of the victims.
The students were kidnapped while on their way to attend the annual conference of the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS) holding at the Enugu State University of Technology scheduled last weekend.
Benue State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Superintendent of Police (SP) Catherine Anene, Friday night confirmed the release of the students to journalists in a WhatsApp chat at exactly 11pm. She however described it as a rescue, promising to make available details of the rescue Saturday morning.
“Kidnap victims rescued. Details will be released tomorrow morning please”, Anene said.
But sources within security and abductees’ families confided in National Record that Friday that each family paid of the 20 abducted students paid N2.5m for its student, totaling N50 million ransom demand made by the Kidnappers last Sunday.
The ransom, sources corroborated one another, was delivered in Enugu State by a Rev. Fr. while the students were released in a forest in Utonkon in Ado LGA of Benue State, around midnight. Utokon is about 36km from Otukpo.
According to a family source, the ransom was ready for delivery on Thursday but when the Reverend Father bearing the ransom went to the spot agreed with the kidnappers, they were nowhere to be seen. The kidnappers later contacted the cleric stating that they were under pressure from security operatives and had to abort the collection on Thursday.
“The day before yesterday, they took the ransom round but they could not meet the person who was supposed to collect it. So, when they met yesterday and collected, they said they were trying to avoid security. That was in Enugu. So, they got the money there and released the medical students in Utonkon, Ado local government, Benue State,” the source told National Record Friday night.
Following their release from the forest, the students were said to have trekked for several kilometres before they were located and picked by a team of security operatives and brought to Otukpo in the early hours of Saturday.
Security operatives left Otukpo around 5:05am Saturday (this morning) along with all 20 students and members of their families for Abuja where they are reportedly scheduled to undergo medical check-up and press conference at either Force Headquarters of Presidential Villa, a family source told National Record.
About five days ago, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had ordered the deployment of his tactical squad to Benue State and directed the State Commissioner of Police, CP Yabanet, to relocate to Otukpo LGA to rescue the students.
Efforts to get further information from Benue Police spokesperson, SP Catherine Anene, via phone call and WhatsApp message failed as she neither picked her call nor responded to the message
