By Obansa Ibrahim, Lokoja
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has vowed to secure the safe return of students of the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH) Osara, who were abducted from the university campus on Thursday.
Governor Ododo made this known when he visited the university campus on an assessment of the security situation in the wake of the security breach on the campus that led to the abduction of the students.
Governor Ododo assured that every necessary step including non-kinetic measures have been activated to ensure the safe return of the abducted students.
While assuring members of the university community of efforts by the government to improve the existing security architecture on the campus, Governor Ododo promised that he will do whatever it takes to return all the abducted students back to the university and to reunite them with their families and friends.
“It is our duty as a government to protect lives and property in all parts of the state. We are prepared to protect the students and that is why we allowed the students to stay on the campus.
“We installed CCTV cameras in all the classrooms and the entire perimeter of the university campus yet on the day of the attack, our investigation so far revealed that all the cameras were switched off and this can only be attributed to sabotage by internal collaborators.
“Our security agencies are on their heels and investigation is ongoing. All our students shall return safely and the perpetrators shall be brought to book”, the Governor assured.
Speaking further on the ongoing rescue efforts, Governor Ododo disclosed that there will be regular review of the operation as more facts emerge from the investigation.
According to the Governor:
“I am here to see things myself; to assess the situation and also to review the ongoing operation that will ensure the safe return of the students to the school. What is most important now is how to rescue our students unhurt.
“We have the right information at our disposal but we can’t put all that out in the media. I want the parents and students to be calm as we are making concerted effort to secure the return of the students.”
He commended the security officers for their gallantry in minimizing the impact of the attack by preventing the attackers from gaining access to the university hostels, stressing that nothing will be spared to bring back the students and to prevent a repeat of such unfortunate attack on the university campus and elsewhere in the state.