Two students of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH) who were among those abducted by bandits recently have been killed by their captors.
The two victims, James Michael Anajuwe, a 100-level Information Technology student, and Musa Hussein, a 100-level Software Engineering student were kidnapped alongside others by gunmen who invaded the school on May 9, 2024.
A total of 20 of the abducted students were rescued by the security operatives and local hunters.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, the two students must have been killed by the kidnappers as an act of revenge due to the killing of some of the kidnappers during the rescue mission.
Meanwhile, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Education For All (E4A) has condemned the murder of the two students despite ongoing negotiations with the parents of the children.
E4A described the murder as the height of callousness by the kidnappers.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Lokoja which was signed by the Publicity Secretary of the NGO, Nasir Ibrahim, E4A said the kidnappers intended to scare young people from going to school.
“It is sad that the criminals killed two of the students who were not among the 21 rescued through the operation coordinated by the Kogi State Government, though the circumstances of their kidnap and being traced to a forest in Kwara State by security agencies are yet to be ascertained. This is sad, callous, and a call for collective action against attackers of educational institutions,” the statement read.
“We are aware that parents of the students were negotiating with the kidnappers which slowed down the offensive on the kidnappers by security agencies so as not to endanger the lives of the captives. We were very hopeful and optimistic that they would be released at the end of the negotiations.
“Information reaching us shows that the students allegedly killed were James Michael Anajuwe, a 100-level Information Technology student, and Musa Hussein, a 100-level Software Engineering student of the University. They were allegedly killed at the kidnappers’ hideout in Kwara.
“We are broken and shattered that despite the efforts of the parents, NGOs, and the State Government, we still lost these promising students. We call on the Kogi State Government to work with its Kwara State counterpart to take decisive action against the perpetrators who are said to be hiding in a forest in Kwara, very close to Kogi and Ekiti States.
The NGO commiserates with the families of the lost children, urging the NSA and the Federal Ministry of Education to reinvigorate efforts on the Safe School Initiative.
“The painful loss of the two students should provoke the office of the National Security Adviser to work with the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the safety of our schools across the country.
“It is unacceptable to lose children whose only offence was embracing education. Our nation must rise to the occasion to arrest the rising insecurity across the country.”
