According to the Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, a 400-level student who had been kidnapped from Abubakar Audu University in Ayangba, Dekina Local Government Area, Kogi State, was rescued on Monday while he was out in the open.
The 19-year-old English education undergraduate whose name was given as Fauziyah Muhammed was alleged to have been kidnapped in Ayangba on Sunday morning, hypnotized, and later dumped in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident took place between 9 am and 10 am on Sunday.
The state commandant of the NSCDC, Dr. Umar Muhammed, who briefed journalists in Ilorin on Monday, said the student was discovered by the residents of the Ajegunle-Isale community on Egbejila Road in Ilorin on Monday morning.
The commandant said that “Fauziyah was wandering about the community naked,” adding that the residents seized her and handed her over to the NSCDC officer, Afolayan, who later mustered the command’s support.
He said, “Fauziyah is no longer coherent in speech, suggesting her horrible experiences while with the kidnappers.
“She was found naked while some Good Samaritans in Ajegunle Isale, Egbejila Road, Ilorin provided her with clothes, and we as a command have tried to comfort her.
“We have briefed Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq about her plight, and the governor, being a father, has promised to assist us with fuel to return her to Kogi tomorrow,” he added.
During an interview, Fauziyah said she did not know how she got to Kwara State from Kögi State but recalled: “One of the books I carried dropped, and as I made to pick it, I lost consciousness.”
The commandant said that the command was set to release her to one Mallam Salihu Aliu, who claimed to be her uncle and was delegated by the family to act on their behalf.
In another development, the command also paraded one Abu Usman Soja suspected to be an informant to some kidnappers who abducted three people, including a woman and her two children, in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The NSCDC said that the kidnappers, now on the run, abducted the woman and her two children on November 7, 2024, and placed a ransom of N50 million for their release.
According to the commandant, “The kidnappers demanded a N50 million ransom but later reduced it to N15 million. The mother has been released while the kidnappers have escaped into the forest with the children.”