Tensions Flare as Soldiers Invade Kwara Police Station to Reclaim Rescued Kogi Students

The rescued students

There was high drama at the Oro Ago Divisional Police headquarters in Kwara State on Sunday when soldiers stormed the station and forcibly removed rescued students from Kogi State University.

The students had been kidnapped by bandits from the Confluence University of Science and Technology in Osara, Kogi State. While two of the abductees were killed, the remaining students were rescued in phases. The final group of eight students—five females and three males—were freed this weekend and taken to the Oro Ago police station for debriefing.

Identified as Anate Hanifat Oyiza, 19; Damisa Rashidat Ometere, 17; Ahmed Tijani Fatimah, 21; Obakachi Mashkurah Onyioyiza, 17; Oloruntoba Blessing Kemisola, 23; Omojo Godwin, 19; Abdulrafiu Abdulmalik Enesi, 19; and Musa Oseni, 19, the students were found in Aro-Ago forest, Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State.

In a statement released on Sunday evening, the Kwara State Police Command condemned the soldiers' actions as "disrespectful and totally unacceptable."

"The heinous gunmen made their way into Kwara State (from Kogi) with the remainder of the students roaming the forest with the abductees," the statement read. "The students were rescued and taken to the Oro Ago Divisional Police headquarters, Kwara State, in preparation for their onward movement to receive medical attention at the state capital, Ilorin."

The students, appearing weak and in dirty clothing, were provided with presentable clothes and breakfast by the police. However, as preparations were being made for their transfer to Ilorin, soldiers arrived in a convoy of three operational vehicles, overpowered the police, and took custody of the rescued students without proper handover.

"This act is disrespectful to the force and totally unacceptable," stated the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Toun Ejire-Adeyemi. "The behavior of the soldiers is likened to acts unbecoming of an officer, and necessary actions will be taken to report their conduct to higher authorities."

In response, Army PRO Stephen Nwankwo clarified that the rescue team included officers from the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Army, local hunters, and a police team. He emphasized that the victims were taken to Abuja by the rescue team and denied any forceful takeover.

“The abductees were abandoned following the superior firepower from our men and they were being driven away but stopped at a police checkpoint before they proceeded. There was nothing like forceful overpowering,” Nwankwo said.