MAIDUGURI: Security forces in Nigeria have rescued students abducted from a university in northern Kogi state, along with other victims held by the kidnappers, the army and the government said on Sunday.
Information commissioner of Kogi, Kingsley Femi Fanwo said security forces were involved in a shootout with the armed gang that carried out the abduction at Confluence University of Science and Technology.
The state also had taken the help of local hunters who know the Kogi terrain, and a security agent and hunter were injured.
The Nigerian army in a separate statement said that troops, other security agencies, and local vigilantes had a fierce gunfight with the kidnappers.
The army said the superior firepower of the soldiers led to the kidnappers abandoning nine of the kidnapped students, who were later rescued.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has ruled out the payment of ransoms for the kidnapped schoolchildren.
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According to reports the victims were among more than 100 people kidnapped by gunmen during Friday night raids on three villages in northwest Nigeria.
Abductions have become widespread issue in Nigeria’s northwest region as roving gangs of armed men kidnap people from villages, school and highways, and demand ransom money from their relatives.
