News Room In a distressing development, bandits have demanded a ransom of ₦50 million for the release of 20 medical students—including a house officer—from the University of Jos and the University of Maiduguri. The students were kidnapped on their way to Enugu for the annual convention of the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students.
The captors made contact with the families less than 24 hours after the abduction, as confirmed by JoeyOffAir on Friday, August 16. “They’ve urged the family to post an appeal because they’re intensifying pressure,” a source revealed.
A distress tweet was posted around 6:26 p.m. from the account of Kingsley Aondona, one of the abducted students. The message read: “We were kidnapped on our way to Enugu for a convention @Nigerian_Doctor. They are demanding ₦50 million for 20 of us medical students. Please help us; we haven’t eaten for two days. Contact us at 08163420157 – Pius is handling the money collection. They have warned that they will start killing us tomorrow.”
As of the time of this report, the security operatives have yet to comment on the latest development.
As insecurity escalates across Nigeria, kidnapping for ransom has become increasingly prevalent. Bandits have abducted hundreds of Nigerians, primarily travellers, in recent years. According to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence, a Lagos-based political risk analysis firm, at least $18.34 million was paid in ransoms between June 2011 and March 2020.
Featured Image-File: Akila Jibrin/The New Humanitarian
