3, March 2025
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Suspected kidnappers stormed Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, formerly known as the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi (FUAM), in Benue State, abducting three female students without facing any security resistance.
SaharaReporters learnt that the incident occurred on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
An eyewitness, who is also a student at the university, told SaharaReporters that the kidnappers took advantage of the institution’s weak security system to carry out the abduction.
“That night, we were on a pathway that led to the class. They (the kidnapped students) passed, and we greeted them. They said they were quickly going to class. As they were going, even though there were street lights, the kidnappers suddenly emerged from the bush and grabbed them. The male students who were with them ran away. There were four girls, but the fourth girl managed to escape into the bush. So, they only took three ladies,” the eyewitness recounted.
“I think they were not interested in kidnapping the male students because if they were, they would have captured them too. They took the girls into the bush and switched off their flashlights.”
The student further revealed how the vast and poorly secured campus made it easy for criminals to operate without restrictions.
“Our school is very big. It is located on a vast piece of land with multiple entrances. The main entrance has security checks, but other parts of the university, including the hostel areas and some classrooms, are exposed to the surrounding villages and bushes. People can come in and out without any checks,” he said.
The witness confirmed that the kidnappers were heavily armed and masked, attacking on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, around 8:10 PM.
The abducted students have been identified as Apebo Susana Lember, Adeyemi Folashade Favour, and Orakaa Msenuter Emmanuella.
This latest abduction adds to the growing list of kidnappings targeting students across Nigerian universities, a disturbing trend that has left families and institutions in fear.
For instance, SaharaReporters recently reported how four students were abducted by gunmen from the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) in Katsina State.
Security operatives confirmed to security analyst and counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama that one of the four students has been rescued. Efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining three students.
The rescued student, identified as Fahad Muhammad, a 20-year-old 100-level Computer Science student, regained his freedom on Sunday following intensified search-and-rescue operations in the area.
According to Makama, the troops of Operation Fansam Yanma were sustaining efforts to locate and rescue the three other students still in captivity: Adewale Bolaji Ajayi, 23, of the Department of Computer Science; Emmanuel Michael, 24; and Favour Michael, 22, both of the Department of Food Management Science.
(www.naija247news.com)
