The abductors of the six Nigerian Law School students have reportedly requested a ransom of N20 million for each of the victims.
The students were reportedly abducted in Benue State by suspected gunmen while travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School in Adamawa State on Saturday.
According to reports on Sunday, the incident took place late Saturday evening as the students were heading to resume academic activities at the Yola campus, which was set to reopen on Monday (today) after their court externship break.
In a telephone interview with PUNCH on Sunday, Damilare Adenola, a fellow law student at the Yola campus, confirmed the incident. He said, “Six students of the Nigerian Law School have reportedly been 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.”
According to him, the reports suggest that the abduction took place along the route between Wukari in Taraba State and a part of Benue State —an area known for insecurity and frequent attacks on travellers.
A fresh update on the abduction of the six Nigerian Law School students has revealed that the kidnappers are demanding a N20m ransom for each victim.
Sources at the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School disclosed on Sunday evening that the suspected gunmen had contacted the victims’ relatives and colleagues to begin ransom negotiations.
One of the students, Chisom, shared that he initially didn’t believe the news until he tried to reach some of the affected students and couldn’t get through.
He said, “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 N20m for his release.
He further disclosed that he spoke with another classmate based in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, who had already heard about the incident.
“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.
This is not the first time students of the Nigerian Law School have been targeted by kidnappers. In 2022, two students from the Agbani campus in Enugu State were reportedly abducted by gunmen.
The victims were said to have gone to the Eke Agbani market to buy food when they were ambushed and taken away to an unknown location by the attackers.
