Kidnappers Demand Ransom After Kidnapping Students, Principal During NECO Exam

Gunmen on Tuesday invaded Government Secondary School, Olowa, in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, abducting four students, the school principal and an ad hoc official of the National Examinations Council (NECO).

Naija News reports that the attack reportedly occurred at about 5.25 pm while the students were sitting for the ongoing NECO examination.

Residents said the heavily armed assailants entered the community while firing repeatedly to create panic before proceeding to the school.

The victims were identified as the principal, Nyada Daniel; the NECO examination supervisor, Solomon Audu; and four students whose names had yet to be disclosed.

A community leader, Sunday Alkali, who spoke with Vanguard, said residents were relaxing beneath trees when the attackers suddenly appeared.

According to him, the gunmen initially withdrew after noticing the number of people outside, but returned shortly afterwards and began shooting indiscriminately.

Alkali said, “The gunmen seemed surprised to see many people outside at that time of the day and initially retreated.

“They later returned, shooting indiscriminately, forcing everyone to flee for safety.”

Residents said they did not immediately realise that the school was the main target of the attack.

Another resident said community members visited the school after the shooting subsided and discovered examination materials scattered across classrooms and the premises.

The resident said, “We initially did not know what the gunmen were after.

“After the shooting stopped, some of us went to the school and found examination papers scattered across classrooms and the school premises. There were no students or school officials in sight.”

The residents later discovered that the principal, examination supervisor and four candidates had been taken away.

Community members said the number of abducted students could have been higher had the attack occurred during a compulsory subject examination.

They explained that only a limited number of candidates were writing Literature in English at the time, unlike English Language and Mathematics, which usually attract larger numbers of students.

Abductors Demand Ransom

The kidnappers reportedly contacted relatives of some of the victims on Tuesday evening and demanded large sums of money for their release.

“At least four families have received calls from the abductors demanding huge sums of money for the victims’ freedom,” Alkali alleged.

The exact amount demanded from each family was not disclosed.

Following the attack, soldiers, police officers, local vigilantes and hunters were reportedly deployed to the community and surrounding areas.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the combined security team had begun searching nearby forests for the abductors.

“Soldiers, policemen, vigilantes and hunters are combing the surrounding forests in search of the kidnappers,” the resident said.