A Non-Governmental Organization; Education For All (E4A), has condemned the killing of two students of the Conference University of Science and Technology, Osara in Kogi State by their kidnappers, despite the ongoing negotiations with the parents to pay ransom for their release.
The Publicity Secretary of the NGO, Malam Nasir Ibrahim, in a statement today, May 26, in Lokoja, reacting to the police report that the two students have been killed by their captors, described the killing as the height of callousness.
He said that the intent of the kidnappers is to scare young people from going to school, which is unfortunate.
“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 Government.
“Although the circumstances of their kidnap and being traced to a forest in Kwara State by security agencies are yet to be ascertained. This is sad, callous and a call for collective action against attackers of educational institutions.
“We are aware that parents of the students were negotiating with the kidnappers which slowed down the offensive on the kidnappers by security agencies so as not to endanger the lives of the captives.
“We were very hopeful and optimistic that they will be released at the end of the negotiations.
“Information reaching us shows that the students allegedly killed were James Michael Anajuwe, a 100 level Information Technology student and Musa Hussein, a 100 level Software Engineering student of the University.
“They were allegedly killed at the kidnappers’ hideout in Kwara.
“We are broken and shattered that despite the efforts of the parents, NGOs and the State Government, we still lost these promising students.”
He called on the Kogi State government to work with its Kwara counterpart to take a decisive action against the perpetrators who were said to be hiding in a forest in Kwara State, very close to Kogi and Ekiti States.
He commiserated with the families of the lost children, urging the NSA and the Federal Ministry of Education to reinvigorate efforts on the Safe School Initiative.
“The painful loss of the two students should provoke the office of the National Security Adviser to work with the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the safety of our schools across the country.
“It is unacceptable to lose children whose only offence was embracing education. Our nation must rise to the occasion to arrest the rising insecurity across the country.”
The Kogi State Police Command confirmed the killing of the two students today, May 26 in a statement.
The State Police Commissioner, Bethrand Onuoha described the killing by their abductors as very unfortunate.
The CP did not give the details of the killing, but said that the security operatives are on the trail of the abductors to bring them to book.
The kidnappers had stormed the campus of the university at about 9.00 pm on May 9 as the students were studying in their classes ahead of their examinations slated for May 13 and abducted some students, after shooting sporadically into the air.
Although security agencies had rescued 21 of the abducted students with the help of local hunters, a few are still in the hands of the kidnappers.
Source: Prompt News.
