The kidnappers of six Nigerian Law School students have threatened to murder the hostages if their ransom demands are not fulfilled.
On Saturday, July 26, while going from Onitsha, Anambra State, to start their studies at the Nigerian Law School’s Yola campus in Adamawa State, the students were abducted along the Benue-Taraba highway, according to The Intercept.
Lectures were supposed to start on Monday, July 28, and they were reportedly returning from a court externship vacation.
The people who were abducted were Rev. Ernest Okafor, Ogbuka Fabian, Nwamma Philip, Okechukwu Obadiegwu, Obalem Emmanuel, and Obiorah David, according to a fellow student named Damilare Adenola.
Sources within the campus revealed that the kidnappers initially demanded N20 million per victim after contacting the families and colleagues of the abductees. That demand has since increased.
A source privy to a phone call between one of the students and the abductors said the kidnappers are now asking for N50 million per student and have threatened to kill them if the ransom is not paid.
“They said they will kill them if we refuse to pay the ransom.
They cautioned us against involving the security personnel. According to the source, they claimed to be able to hear all that happened and demanded that we be quiet and comply if we wanted them to survive.
In addition to confirming that it is aware of the incident, the Adamawa State Police Command revealed that it is collaborating with its Benue counterpart to find and rescue the victims.
However, as of the time this story was filed, attempts to get in touch with DSP. Udeme Edet, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, had failed.
