The kidnappers of six Nigerian Law School students have threatened to execute their hostages if the ransom demanded is not paid.
On Saturday, July 26, the students were abducted in Benue State while on their way from Onitsha, Anambra State, to the Nigerian Law School’s Yola campus in Adamawa State.
They were apparently on their way to resume academic activities following their court externship break, with courses set to begin on Monday, July 28.
Damilare Adenola, a law student, named the kidnapped students as Rev. Ernest Okafor, Ogbuka Fabian, Nwamma Philip, Okechukwu Obadiegwu, Obalem Emmanuel, and Obiorah David.
Confirming the incident to reporters, a student leader at the Yola campus said the victims were last heard from shortly before entering a volatile stretch of the road between Benue and Nasarawa states.
Sources at the Yola campus disclosed that the kidnappers have made contact with families and colleagues of the victims, initially demanding N20m per student for their release.
However, the ransom demanded has since doubled.
According to a source privy to a phone conversation between the kidnappers and one of the students, the abductors were now demanding N50m and had issued threats to kill the students if their conditions were not met.
“They said they will kill them if we refuse to pay the ransom.
“They warned us not to involve the security operatives. They said they can hear everything happening and insisted that if we want them alive, we must stay silent and comply,” the source said.
While the Adamawa State Police Command admitted being aware of the kidnapping, its spokesperson, Yahaya Suleiman, told the press on Sunday that the command was collaborating with its Benue counterpart to find and rescue the victims from their kidnappers.
However, attempts to contact Catherine Anene, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, were fruitless as of the time of reporting this article.
