The abductors of six Nigerian Law School students have reportedly demanded ₦20m for each victim, amounting to a total of ₦120m.
The victims were kidnapped on Saturday while travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School in Adamawa State.
The abduction reportedly occurred in Benue State, along a route between Wukari in Taraba State.
In a telephone interview on Sunday, Damilare Adenola, a fellow student at the Yola campus, confirmed the incident.
“Six students of the Nigerian Law School have been reportedly kidnapped by suspected bandits while travelling to resume school after their court externship break.
“Some missing students have been identified as Rev. Ernest Okafor, Ogbuka Fabian, Nwamma Philip, Okechukwu Obadiegwu, Obalem Emmanuel, and Obiorah David.”
Multiple sources at the Yola campus confirmed to PUNCH Metro that the kidnappers had reached out to relatives and classmates of the victims to initiate ransom negotiations.
One of the students, Chisom, recounted how he initially doubted the incident until he attempted to contact the victims directly.
“We heard the news this morning (Sunday) that some of our classmates were abducted. I didn’t want to believe it, so I started making a few calls because I know all of them. I tried to call three of the victims, but their numbers were switched off.
When I tried one of them again, he picked up the call. There was noise in the background, but when he finally spoke, he screamed that he had been kidnapped and told a colleague to send ₦20 million for his release.”
He added that the news had already circulated among students in other campuses.
“He told me he’d been aware of the abduction since Thursday. According to him, the wife of one of the victims reached out to inform him about it. That was when we confirmed that the kidnapping happened in Benue State,” he added.
A student leader at the Yola campus who spoke under anonymity confirmed the matter had been reported to authorities.
“We are currently in Yola. We have contacted the Adamawa State Police Command. We are just waiting for more updates from them. We haven’t got any concrete information yet,” the source said.
The Adamawa State Police Command also acknowledged the development.
However, its spokesperson, Yahaya Suleiman, noted that the incident occurred outside their jurisdiction.
“The abduction did not occur inside Adamawa State. I will encourage you to contact the Benue State Police Command for more details,” Suleiman said.
He stressed that law enforcement agencies in the affected states were cooperating to ensure the students’ safe return.
“We cooperate not only with the police in other states but also with other sister agencies to ensure that those coming into Adamawa are safe, without harassment or intimidation.
“The command is collaborating with officers and men of the Benue State Police Command to ensure these students are rescued,” he stated.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, Anene Catherine, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages went unanswered.