Kidnappers of Kaduna varsity students demand N800m ransom

Kidnappers of students of the Kaduna-based Greenfield University have demanded a ransom of N800 million from their parents.

They also reportedly threatened to kill the students if the ransom is not paid.

A cousin to one of the kidnapped students, Georgina Stephen, confirmed the development.

Stephen claimed 23 students, including 14 females and a staff of the university, were abducted.

According to her, the kidnappers have been beating the abducted students, insisting if the ransom is not paid they will kill all of them.

Daily Trust gathered that the armed men, who attacked the school around 8:30 pm on Tuesday shot a security guard at the university situated at Kasarami in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

It was also gathered that the bandits had taken advantage of the porous vicinity of the school as there was no perimeter fence to launch the attack where they accessed the student hostels and took the students unchallenged.

Our correspondent who visited the institution reports that the university established in 2019 has about 40 students but couldn’t ascertain the exact number of the abducted students even though sources say half of the students were abducted.

The staff of the university and few local guards had assembled at the school entrance gate when our correspondent arrived. Though they declined to speak with journalists, a police vehicle was seen parked at the main gate with few armed officers keeping vigilance.

It was gathered that the university was about less than 30 km from Kaduna town surrounded by vast land making it easy for such attacks.

A relative of one of the abducted students who was seen at the gate told Daily Trust that his sister who recently got admission into the university was among the victims. In tears, he said: “She just got admitted into the school and look at what has happened to her now what kind of life is this.”

The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan who was on an on-the-spot assessment in the school confirmed the incident while fielding questions from journalists.

According to him, troops of Operation Thunder Strike (OPTS) and other operatives had swiftly moved to the location but the armed bandits had retreated.

“After search-and-rescue operations, a staff member of the university, Paul Ude Okafor, was confirmed to have been killed by the armed bandits, while a number of students were kidnapped,” he said.

The commissioner further stated that the remaining students had been handed over to the institution, adding that the actual number of students kidnapped was still being sought from the institution’s records.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Muhammad Jalige, who confirmed the incident, said the exact number of abducted students is yet to be known.

He said a roll call was being taken to ascertain the identity and number of missing students.

Jalige noted that the police and the military moved to the school immediately after they got wind of the attack.

He said the police would update the public on the number of students abducted as soon as it is confirmed.

It is not clear who owns the private university but, on its website, it is stated that Engineer and Chief Simon Nwakacha is the Founder/Pro-chancellor.

With about 40 students, Greenfield University currently has two faculties; Science and Technology and Social and Management Sciences. The two faculties currently have nine departments and fifteen courses.

The incident comes barely 40 days after 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, still in Kaduna, were kidnapped.