FIVE ABDUCTED OGUN POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS, TWO OTHERS RESCUED ALIVE

Five students of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, Ogun State, and two other kidnapped victims have regained their freedom after spending about a week in captivity following a coordinated rescue operation by security agencies.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun announced the development on Thursday while addressing journalists at the Governor’s Office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, in the company of security chiefs and some of the rescued students.

According to the governor, the victims were rescued in the early hours of Thursday through a joint operation involving the Nigeria Police Force, the Armed Forces, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Ogun State Security Network Agency, local vigilantes and hunters.

Abiodun disclosed that one of the rescued students sustained a gunshot injury during the abduction but was immediately taken for medical treatment and has since been stabilised.

He said security operatives have continued the operation to arrest other members of the kidnapping gang still at large, stressing that Ogun State would remain hostile to criminal elements.

The governor also revealed that the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, approved the deployment of a police helicopter for aerial surveillance, a move he said played a key role in the successful rescue mission.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for strengthening the nation’s security architecture through investments in security agencies, improved intelligence coordination and enhanced operational capacity.

Abiodun further assured residents that his administration would continue investing in security infrastructure and providing the necessary support to security agencies to safeguard lives and property.

Speaking at the briefing, Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, confirmed that no ransom was paid for the victims’ release.

He added that two suspected kidnappers had been arrested and were assisting investigators, while security agencies had intensified efforts to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang.