By: Seringe ST Touray
In northwestern Nigeria’s Katsina state, gunmen recently abducted five female students from a university, marking the second such incident in the region in the past month. Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups are prevalent in this area due to factors such as widespread poverty, high unemployment rates, and the easy availability of illegal firearms.
The abduction took place early on Wednesday at the Federal University in Dutsin-Ma town, as confirmed by Katsina police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq. Immediate action is being taken by the police, who are deploying all available resources to ensure the safe rescue of the victims. A suspect is already in custody in connection with the incident.
This event follows a similar abduction on September 22, when at least 24 female students were taken from their hostel at the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara state. Fortunately, a rescue operation conducted by security forces successfully freed 16 of them three days later.
