Terrorists raise demand to N300m, warn against involving security agencies
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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“They [terrorists] said they will kill them if we refuse to pay the ransom. They warned us not to involve the security operatives.
“They said they can hear everything happening and insisted that if we want them alive, we must stay silent and comply” – fellow student.
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Terrorists who waylaid and kidnapped six Nigerian Law School (NLS) students in Benue on Saturday have raised their demand from N20 million to N50 million ransom for each victim and threatened to murder them if the total N300 million is not paid.
The students had finished their externship and were abducted while travelling from Onitsha in Anambra to the NLS Yola campus in Adamawa to resume lectures on Monday.
Damilare Adenola, a fellow student, named the victims as Ernest Okafor, Ogbuka Fabian, Nwamma Philip, Okechukwu Obadiegwu, Obalem Emmanuel, and Obiorah David.
A student leader at NLS Yola campus said they last heard from the abductees shortly before they entered a dangerous stretch of the road between Benue and Nasarawa.
Another student disclosed that the gunmen made contact with families and colleagues of the victims, initially demanded N20 million per student for their release, but later raised the ransom to N50 million each and threatened to kill the students if the total N300 million is not paid.
“They said they will kill them if we refuse to pay the ransom. They warned us not to involve the security operatives,” the source recounted to The PUNCH.
“They said they can hear everything happening and insisted that if we want them alive, we must stay silent and comply.”
Adamawa Police Command spokesperson Yahaya Suleiman confirmed at the weekend that the command is working with its Benue counterpart to locate and rescue the victims.
But there has been no update since from the police.
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Kidnappers demand N120m ransom to release Nigerian Law School students ambushed in Benue
