TWO more abducted students of the Greenfield University, Kaduna State, have been killed by their captors.
Greenfield University is located at Kasarami village, off Kaduna-Abuja Road in Chikun Local Government Area, where there have been many cases of abduction and kidnapping and other security challenges in the state.
The state government announced the latest deaths on Monday through its Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan.
Aruwan said security agents found the bodies on Monday.
It has been reported that the number of students whisked away from the school last Tuesday is unspecified.
The ICIR had reported last Friday how three of the students were killed by the bandits after demanding N800 million ransom. The terrorists claimed that the deaths of the abductees were to serve as warning to all the parties concerned for not making the ransom available.
Aruwan expressed Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s grief over the killings.
Part of his statement read: “On a sad note, security agencies have just reported to the Kaduna State Government the recovery of two more dead bodies of Greenfield University students, killed by armed bandits today, Monday 26th April 2021.
“The retrieved corpses have been evacuated to a mortuary, and the university has been notified of the development.
“The Government of Kaduna State under the leadership of Malam Nasir El-Rufai is saddened by this evil perpetrated against innocent students abducted while pursuing their education for a glorious future.”
The statement noted that the state government sent its deep empathy to the deceased families and the university management, as well as prayed for the repose of souls of the late students.
Aruwan added that the government would update the nations on further developments arising from the kidnapping.
The commissioner had said last Friday that the remains of the three students killed earlier were found close to the university and their bodies evacuated to a mortuary by himself and Force Commander of Operation Thunder Strike, MH Abdullahi.
Abubakar Yusuf Sanga (male) and Dorathy Tirnon Yohanna (female) were among the three abducted students earlier killed by the bandits.
Governor El-Rufai had vowed he would never negotiate with any bandit or other criminals even if his child was adopted.
He had said he would rather pray to God to accept such a son to Himself and give him eternal rest than negotiate to rescue him.
However, Sahara Reporters, an online newspaper, reported in March this year that the governor had withdrawn his only son attending Kaduna Capital School – a public primary school in the state capital –following increased abductions in the schools in the state.
Several public institutions, including the airport, schools, hospitals have been attacked by the bandits and people whisked away, with many killed.
Gunmen had attacked Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in the state on March 12, kidnapping 39 students. Only a few of the students have been released. There are several other abducted persons in the dens of their captors in the state.
The ICIR had reported in March this year that deaths in Kaduna State from insecurity were three times higher than in North-East states in 2020.
Neighbouring Niger, Zamfara and Katsina states have been facing high-scale insecurity, in addition to insurgency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, as well as other forms of security challenges in all six geo-political zones in the country.
There have been fears that rising spate of insecurity in the nation might consume the country if not quickly addressed.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2022. Contact him via email @ [email protected].