The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed that the four people abducted during Tuesday’s attack on a NECO examination centre in Dekina Local Government Area have been rescued safely and are receiving medical attention and other necessary support.
Speaking at the command headquarters in Lokoja on Friday, Commissioner of Police Bello Kankarofi said the victims had been reunited with the appropriate authorities following a coordinated rescue operation involving security agencies.
Those rescued include the principal of Government Secondary School, Olowa Agbajo, Elder Daniel Iyanda, NECO official Solomon Peter and two female examination candidates.
According to the police, armed kidnappers attacked a purported examination centre operating within the abandoned Government Secondary School, Olowa Agbajo, where 10 special candidates were writing the ongoing NECO examination.
Following the attack, the police, Nigerian Army, DSS, NSCDC, local vigilantes and hunters launched extensive search operations across forests and surrounding communities.
Kankarofi said the sustained operational pressure forced the kidnappers to abandon the victims, who were rescued alive on Thursday evening.
The commissioner disclosed that investigations have revealed the abandoned school had earlier been shut down by the Kogi State Government because of security concerns.
Police are now probing allegations that the abandoned premises were unlawfully used as a special examination centre and that some individuals facilitated the arrangement despite the school’s closure.
Investigators are also examining claims that the facility had become notorious for examination malpractice.
Kankarofi warned that anyone found culpable would face prosecution, stressing that public examinations must only be conducted in approved and secure centres.
He commended Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigerian Army and other security agencies for supporting the successful rescue operation.
The police commissioner added that security operatives are continuing efforts to identify and arrest all those responsible for the kidnapping while urging members of the public to provide credible information that could assist ongoing investigations.
