4 University Students Kidnapped By Gunmen In Nasarawa, Police Confirm

The Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed that gunmen invaded a community in the Keffi Local Government Area of the state and kidnapped four university students. These four students were reportedly taken to an unknown location.

The invasion happened between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. on Monday, and the rampage continued until the early hours of Tuesday.

Solomon Timmy, a member of the university's Students Union, claimed that the bandits entered the students' villages or communities to attack students and hostels. "They abducted four students – three females and one male," he said, as per PremiumTimes.

The identities of the four students were confirmed following an investigation. They are all 100-level students, and their names are Rahila Hanya (science laboratory technology), Josephine Gershon (computer science), Rosemary Samuel (business administration) and Goodness Samuel (geography).

Security agents and the university's management are now working together to rescue the abducted students, according to Timmy, who also shared that the gunmen have begun negotiating with the victims' families.

DSP Ramhan Nansel, the police public relations officer in the state, confirmed the kidnapping incident on Tuesday and said police commissioner Maiyaki Baba had ordered the manhunt to find the kidnappers and rescue the students.

"The command is aware of the kidnapping at about 12:55 a.m. as a distress call was received that a house located at Angwan Kaare in Keffi was invaded by unidentified armed men," Nansel said. "The police in collaboration with the military, responded accordingly and combed the area, but to no avail."

This is not the first time gunmen have kidnapped students in Nigeria. Last month, gunmen entered three hostels at the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State and abducted 30 students, 24 of whom were reportedly female. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had to direct security agencies to rescue the victims afterward.

Nigeria is suffering from a kidnap epidemic, with 3,620 individuals being abducted in the country from July 2022 to June 2023 alone.

Aside from kidnapping, gunmen have also been linked to attacks against communities and security officials in the country. Last month, for instance, unidentified gunmen killed at least eight security operatives in the Umualumaku community, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria's south-east.