Olayiwola Matthew
The abductors of six Nigerian Law School students have reportedly threatened to execute them if the ransom demanded is not paid.
The students were abducted in Benue State on Saturday, July 26, while travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School in Adamawa State.
They were reportedly travelling to Yola to resume academic activities following their court externship break, with lectures scheduled to recommence on Monday, July 28.
The kidnapped students were identified by a fellow law student, Damilare Adenola, as Rev. Ernest Okafor, Ogbuka Fabian, Nwamma Philip, Okechukwu Obadiegwu, Obalem Emmanuel, and Obiorah David.
A report by The Punch newspaper quoted a student leader at the Yola campus to have 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 said that the suspected gunmen had made contact with families and colleagues of the victims, initially demanding N20m per student for their release.
However, the demand has since doubled.
A source privy to a phone conversation between the kidnappers and one of the students said on Monday evening that the abductors were now demanding N50m and had issued threats to kill the students if their conditions were not met.
“They said they would kill them if we refused to pay the ransom.
“They warned us not to involve the security operatives. They said they could hear everything happening and insisted that if we wanted them alive, we must stay silent and comply,” the source said.
While the Adamawa State Police Command confirmed it was aware of the abduction, its spokesperson, Yahaya Suleiman, said on Sunday that the command was working with its Benue counterpart to locate and rescue the victims.
However, efforts to reach the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, Catherine Anene, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
This incident marks another tragic chapter in a series of abductions targeting Nigerian Law School students.
In 2022, two students from the Agbani campus in Enugu State were kidnapped while shopping at the Eke Agbani market.
They were later taken to an unknown destination by the armed assailants.