6 KWASU students Kidnapped, 1 released

A gang of kidnappers struck at kwara state university malete in Moro local government area of the state Thursday afternoon and kidnapped six students.

One of the victims, a 200 Level student of the department of Mass Communication at the Kwara State University, (KWASU) Malete, Dorcas Oluwatimilehin Olanrewaju was however lucky as she was released Friday morning by the abductors .

Father of the victim, Mr Layiwola Olanrewaju, journalist and state correspondent of the Sun Newspapers who confirmed this development with Saturday Vanguard said her daughter was released by the abductors in Omuaran his hometown.

The kidnappers while conveying the students through the town were said to have inquired of her town and dropped her off and left with other students.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that Dorcas and others  were abducted on Thursday afternoon on their way to the campus in Malete.

It was also gathered that the victims had left  off-campus residence to write an examination and  boarded one of the campus shuttle vehicles when they were eventually driven to an unknown destination.

Apparently sensing danger in the circumstances she had found herself, it was learnt that Dorcas the lucky one,  quickly sent a text message to one of her friends to inform her that she had been taken away by some unidentified persons suspected to be ritualists.  Dorcas narrated her ordeal in the hands of the kidnappers.

How I escaped

“While in the taxi I boarded, a woman in the vehicle complained of feeling cold, so the glass windows were closed up. I then lost consciousness immediately. I later found my self among some people in the night.

“We were about 13 in the place as at Thursday night but the ritualists have taken six victims away. They told us that they were heading to Ekiti state. I was kept inside the booth of the vehicle. When we got to Offa, they asked of my hometown and I told them that I was from Omu Aran. So, when they wanted to take water for the faulty radiator of the vehicle at Omu Aran, I was dropped and set free, unknown to them, that it was in front of my father’s house”, she said.

Speaking on the development, the Director,  university relations, Dr. Isiaka Aliagan, said that security had been beefed up on Malete route, around the campus and Malete environ to keep criminals at bay, adding that armed police patrol had been deployed on the route and regular checking of vehicles intensified since yesterday.

According  to him, “A 200 Level Mass Communication female student of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete was reportedly kidnapped by unknown person(s) yesterday but later dropped at Omuaran where she was found.

He said, “ Preliminary information available to us indicated that she reportedly left the premises of ongoing examination to her off-campus hostel to pick her course registration form, after which she went missing.

‘The university learnt that she sent a distress call through her mobile phone indicating that she could not identify the location at which she had been dropped.

“ Immediately they were alerted,   officials of KWASU Safety unit swung into action by contacting the security operatives and telecommunication agencies to track the phone”.

Ahagan added, “the female student had been picked up by the police. Officials of KWASU Safety unit and her parents were invited to the Omuaran police station to pick her up.

“KWASU management would like to stress that all efforts were made to secure the lives of its students staying on both campus and off-campus hostels, while all commercial transport operators were duly registered with the university to ensure proper monitoring of their activities”.

Speaking on the development, the police public relations officer (PPRO) of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said that the command had commenced investigation on the matter, adding that the report had been circulated to police formations within and outside the state towards possible arrest of the suspected hoodlums and safe return of the victims.

‘’We are very hopeful that others will be recovered alive and will be united with their families,‘’ police spokesman assured.