Armed attackers storm Kogi educational institution, kidnap headmaster, exams officer, and pupils

Gunmen launched a brazen attack on Government Secondary School, Olowa, in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, on Tuesday, abducting four students, the principal, and a National Examinations Council, NECO, ad-hoc staff, as they wrote their NECO examination at about 5:25 pm.

n

The attack occurred while three newly passed-out soldiers were also abducted by terrorists in Zamfara State, who demanded N50 million ransom, which was later reduced to N5 million for each captive.

n

Residents of the community described how the heavily armed assailants stormed the area, firing sporadically to scare people before invading the school, with a community leader, Sunday Alkali, stating that the gunmen initially retreated before returning to shoot indiscriminately.

n

After the gunfire subsided, residents discovered that the school had been attacked, finding examination papers scattered across classrooms and the school premises, with no students or school officials in sight, and the victims were later identified as the school principal, Mr. Nyada Daniel; the NECO exams supervisor, Mr. Solomon Audu; and four students.

n

The kidnappers contacted some relatives of the victims on Tuesday evening, demanding ransom for their release, with Alkali alleging that at least four families received calls from the abductors demanding huge sums of money for the victims' freedom.

n

Following the incident, soldiers, police officers, local vigilantes, and hunters were mobilized to the area to track the abductors and rescue the victims, with a resident stating that soldiers, policemen, vigilantes, and hunters were combing the surrounding forests in search of the kidnappers.

n

Kogi State Police Command confirmed the attack, stating that it had launched a rescue operation, and one student had been rescued, with the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, saying that the incident occurred while 10 candidates were writing the ongoing NECO examination at the abandoned school.

n

The police stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the school had previously been shut down by the Kogi State Government due to its remote location and security concerns, but the abandoned premises were allegedly being used illegally as a "special examination centre" for the ongoing NECO examination.

n

The police warned that anyone found to have played a role in the illegal operation of the examination centre or any examination malpractice would be prosecuted, and allegations had emerged indicating that some individuals might have facilitated the use of the abandoned school despite its closure.

n

Kogi State Government confirmed the incident, stating that it had launched a multi-agency security operation to rescue those abducted in the school, with the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, saying that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo directed security agencies to intensify efforts to secure the victims' safe release.

n

The government listed the victims as Principal of Government Secondary School, Olowa, Elder Daniel Iyanaa; a NECO official, Mr. Solomon Audu; a NECO candidate, Miss Dorcas Sunday; and another female candidate identified simply as Miss Dorcas, whose surname was yet to be confirmed.

n

The government stated that five persons were initially abducted during the incident, but one of the victims had been rescued, and efforts had been intensified to secure the release of the remaining four, with personnel from various security outfits deployed to the area to support the rescue operation.

n

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, advocated for the implementation of the state school policy, saying that the Safe Schools Initiative must be made to work, and all schools should be fenced and manned by armed persons.

n

Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, President, Titus Amba, called for the full implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative, urging the government to deploy adequate security personnel, establish modern surveillance systems, and create rapid emergency response systems in vulnerable regions.

n

The Safe Schools Initiative was conceived in the aftermath of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls' abduction, with the federal government launching the scheme with N20 billion to improve school protection, establish early warning systems, perimeter fencing, and emergency response.

n

In 2023, the federal government unveiled a N144.8 billion financing plan for the 2023-2026 period, meant to be implemented with federal, state, and partner participation, but school abductions have not ended, and insecurity around schools has become normalized.

n

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, condemned the abduction of the victims, stating that an examination hall should be a sanctuary of hope, not a crime scene, and a school principal should be preparing students for the future, not negotiating with kidnappers.

n

Atiku linked the security failure to what he described as reckless federal budgeting, saying that the repeated incompetence Nigerians continued to witness under the Tinubu administration was the inevitable consequence of a government that had abandoned probity, discipline, and accountability in public finance.

n

He called for the immediate and unconditional rescue of every abducted victim and demanded a comprehensive review of security arrangements for all schools and examination centers across the federation, stating that the collapse of school security is not merely a security failure but a collapse of governance itself.

n

Three newly passed-out soldiers were ambushed and abducted by terrorists while traveling through Anka axis of Zamfara State, with the soldiers, who had just graduated from the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna, being abducted on July 2, 2026, after they were allegedly abandoned by military authorities while traveling to their destination in Kebbi State.

n

The NDA told Vanguard that its management was not aware of the incident, and the Director of Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Major General Michael Onoja, also said that the DHQ was not aware of the abduction, with families of the abducted soldiers stating that despite notifying military authorities about the incident, no rescue operation or official response had been communicated to them more than 13 days after the abduction.