Kogi map photo credit: Kogi Reports
By Abdullahi Abubakar
Security operatives have rescued two candidates of the National Examinations Council (NECO), principal and teacher abducted during an attack at a centre in Olowa, Dekina Local Government Area.
This much was disclosed by the Kogi State government.
The victims were freed after a coordinated security operation involving multiple agencies.
The victims, who were kidnapped by suspected gunmen during the ongoing NECO examinations, include the school principal, a NECO official and two female candidates and identified as the school principal, Elder Daniel Iyanaa; a NECO official, Mr Solomon Audu; and two female candidates identified as Dorcas Sunday and another candidate simply identified as Dorcas.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Thursday.
He commended the security operatives for what he described as a swift and professional response, while assuring residents that the state government remained committed to protecting lives and property.
The rescue comes barely a day after the Kogi State Police Command confirmed that gunmen had stormed an examination centre in Olowa and abducted four persons during the ongoing NECO examinations.
The police had disclosed that the attack occurred at an abandoned Government Secondary School in Olowa, where examinations were being conducted for 10 candidates.
In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, the command said Commissioner of Police Naziru Bello Kankarofi immediately deployed tactical teams to the area and later visited the scene alongside the Commander of the 12 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Kasim Sidi, and the state’s Security Adviser, Omodara.
Preliminary police findings revealed that the school had earlier been shut down by the Kogi State Government because of its remote location and security risks.
Despite the closure, the abandoned facility was allegedly being used as a “special examination centre,” a development now under investigation.
The police also disclosed that investigators were probing allegations that some individuals facilitated the use of the closed school despite its official shutdown.
According to the command, intelligence reports further suggested that the classroom where the examination was conducted had gained notoriety as a centre for examination malpractice.
The police warned that anyone found to have played a role in operating the alleged illegal examination centre or facilitating examination malpractice would face prosecution.
The command also said combined teams of police officers, soldiers, local vigilantes, hunters and other security personnel carried out intensive bush-combing and intelligence-led operations that culminated in the victims’ rescue, while efforts continue to apprehend those responsible for the abduction.
