The Kogi State Government has reported the rescue of the remaining eight kidnapped Confluence University of Science and Technology students in Osara.
According to our source, the students were rescued in a forest in Kwara State as part of a joint effort with the state administration.
Kingsley Fanwo, the state commissioner for information, said in a statement on Sunday that the governor has directed full assistance to the pupils’ and their parents’ rehabilitation, while measures are being put in place to make the state safer for all.
The statement read, “The government of Kogi State expresses profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for directing the mobilization of resources to ensure the rescue of the kidnapped students. We also thank the National Security Adviser immensely for his commitment to the release of the students and the general security of the state.
“The Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff, the Director General of DSS, the Inspector General of Police, and all the officers and men of the Armed Forces that put in their best, as well as the pilots, did a wonderful job to support us in reuniting the kidnapped students with their families.
“The Kogi State Command of all the security agencies—Police, DSS, NSCDC, and our local hunters—are also highly appreciated for their efforts towards this feat.”.
The statement added, “Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo also expresses immense gratitude to his Kwara State counterpart, Governor AbdulRahmam AbdulRazak, for his commitment, cooperation, and support towards the success of the operation that led to the rescue of the remaining kidnapped students.
“The Kwara State Governor showed the reason he is effectively leading the Nigerian Governors Forum. His actions have also reinforced the Kogi/Kwara cooperation and unity of purpose.”
Now that the remaining students have been rescued, Fanwo stated that the administration will continue to work to improve its security architecture and focus on the Safe School Initiative.
“As the state with the lowest out-of-school children in the North, we have put structures in place to keep our schools safe to ensure every child is not deprived of his or her right to education.
“Kogi has domesticated the Child Rights Act, and we will defend the right of our children to quality education. In Kogi State, education is free up to the secondary school level. We also pay the registration fees for our students to write all internal and external examinations with a budgetary allocation that is way above the UNESCO benchmark for education.
“We do all of these to educate our children and make them responsible contributors to the economy of Nigeria,” the statement added.
The governor also called on the citizens to always volunteer intelligence to security agencies to enable them to prevent crime. This is safer, cheaper, and better for us all.
“All of us must come together to defeat banditry, kidnapping, and any form of criminality in our society,” he added.
Bertrand Onuoha, the Kogi State Police Commissioner, revealed this week the killing of two Confluence State University students who were abducted lately in the state’s Osara area.
Speaking on the killing, he simply said, “Yes, two of them were found to have been shot this morning.”
The police commissioner did not, however, provide further details while speaking with journalists last Sunday in Lokoja, the state capital.
