Six students of Nasarawa State University have been abducted by gunmen in Gudi, Akwanga Local Government Area.
The state Police Command, in a statement by SP Rahman Nansel, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed the incident in Lafia yesterday, saying it had intensified efforts to rescue the victims.
Nansel said the students were abducted on Wednesday at about 9 p.m. when unidentified armed hoodlums invaded a students’ off-campus lodge at Anguwar Ninzo, Gudi, on the outskirts of the town.
According to him, six of the victims have so far been identified as students of the Faculty of Engineering, Gudi Campus of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, while another victim was said to be a visitor at the lodge at the time of the incident.
The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police, Shetima Mohammed, had visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
He said the commissioner reassured students, residents and the university community of the command’s commitment to ensuring the safe rescue of the abducted victims.
Nansel said Mohammed had also redeployed the Area Commander in Akwanga to coordinate field operations pending the rescue of the victims.
He added that a combined security team comprising personnel of the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the military, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), vigilante groups and other tactical units had been deployed to intensify rescue operations.
“The operation is aimed at tracking down the abductors, rescuing the victims unhurt and bringing the perpetrators to justice,” he said.
The spokesman urged members of the public to remain calm, vigilant and security-conscious, while appealing to anyone with useful information to report to the nearest police station or other security agencies.
He added that further updates would be communicated as investigations and rescue operations progressed.
