Two students from the Federal University Wukari who were abducted by suspected kidnappers have been freed. They were released late Thursday night near Chinkai village in Wukari local government area of Taraba state.
Ashu Agya, the head of the university’s information and protocol unit, confirmed this in a telephone interview with Channels Television. She stated that a ransom of 700 thousand naira was paid for their release, despite the kidnappers’ initial demand of 50 million naira.
Earlier, Channels Television reported that the students were abducted around 10:00 pm on April 1st from an eatery located outside the school premises. On that day, the kidnappers attempted to abduct more students but were unsuccessful, resulting in the assault of students and shop owners, as well as the looting of their shops.
During a recent convocation ceremony, the Vice Chancellor mentioned that about 90 percent of the institution’s staff and students reside off-campus. The targeted shop, connected to the hostels where these off-campus students reside, was attacked, leading to the abduction of two students who were also employed at the eatery.
The students came back to retake their examinations due to the carryovers they had from previous sessions.
Providing more information on the matter, the authorities disclosed that the kidnapped students were Joshua Sardauna from the Economics Department and Obianu Elizabeth from the Microbiology Department.