Some of the abducted students of the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, Okene in Kogi State have been rescued.
The Kogi State government in a statement released on Sunday by the Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo said the students whose numbers are not disclosed were rescued by local hunters and other security agents.
“This is to inform the general public that some of the students abducted by gunmen at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara have been rescued safely by local hunters and other security agents,” the statement partly reads.
“Local vigilante men and security agents engaged the kidnappers in a fierce shootout and the kidnappers succumbed to superior firepower and escaped with gun wounds, leaving the kidnapped students who also ran in different directions to avoid being caught up in the fire exchange.
“Many of the students kidnapped and even other people in captivity have been rescued and taken to medical facilities for proper attention, while many others were also rescued in the early hours of today.” Fanwo further stated.
On numbers of casualties recorded during the rescue operation, the commissioner said a hunter and DSS operative sustained injuries during the firefight with the gunmen, stating that they are receiving medical attention.
On effort to rescue the remaining students in captivity Fanwo said security agents together with the hunters are currently combing the forest to make sure they are all rescued.
Recall that gunmen suspected to be bandits on Thursday night invaded the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTEC), Osara, Okene, in Kogi State and abducted some students on Thursday night.
An eyewitness account noted that the bandits swooped on the university around 9 p.m. while the students were reading for their upcoming exams.
The source said that the bandits came in through the bush, went into three lecture halls, and began to shoot into the air to scare the students.
