Three Students Found Dead in Nigeria Following Kidnappings at Greenfield University

Three students of Greenfield University in northern Nigeria have been found dead after being abducted by criminals known as armed bandits earlier in the week, a local official noted.

As claimed, the killings follow the mass kidnappings of at least 20 students and three non-academic university members, which took place on Tuesday this week. However, these numbers have not been confirmed by state authorities yet.

In the meantime, the local authorities in Kaduna said they would not pay any ransom to these bandits, Erudera.com reports.

“In an act of mindless evil and sheer wickedness, the armed bandits who kidnapped students of Greenfield University have shot dead three of the abducted students,” Commissioner for Kaduna State Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan wrote on Facebook.

Aruwan further informed that remains of three students were found on Friday in Kwanan Bature village, close to the university.

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai condemned the killing of the three students as “sheer wickedness, inhumanity and an outright desecration of human lives by vile entities,” adding that the armed bandits should be fought at all costs for the evil acts they are doing.

On behalf of the government and the people of Kaduna State, the governor expressed sincere condolences to families of students and all university’s community.

On Saturday, the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari referred to kidnappings and killings repeatedly happening in Kaduna State as “barbaric terror attacks.”

“My thoughts are with their families in this time of grief. May their souls rest in peace,” Buhari said.

The kidnappings in the area have recurred as the armed bandits have targeted those educational institutions considered as vulnerable.

“They target school children as well as women because the incentives behind securing their release are much higher. Also, men are always considered to be in much more position to possess the finances to secure the release of their wives and children.” head of research at SB Morgen (SBM), Nigeria’s leading geopolitical intelligence platform, Ikemesit Effiong said.

On Tuesday night, the gunmen killed one staff member and kidnapped an unspecified number of students at Greenfield University located in Kasarami village off Kaduna-Abuja Road in Chikun LGA.

This was the fifth time when a school or university in Nigeria was attacked by armed bandits since December 2020, while the latter have kidnapped more than 700 students of the northern Nigerian education institutions in recent months.