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The gunmen, who abducted four pupils, teacher
and Vice-Principal of Lagos Junior Model College, Igbonla, Epe, have contacted
their families to demand ransoms.
The family members,
however, refused to state the amounts demanded by the abductors, saying they had
been warned by the kidnappers against doing so.
Our correspondent learnt
that local vigilance group members have also started combing the bushes in the
Igbonla area to find the victims.
A top police source on
Friday said that the gunmen were believed to still be within the town and that
all possible waterways of escape had been blocked by the navy and the police.
It had been reported that the attackers, comprising five men and a woman, at
about 8am on Thursday, stormed the school and abducted the six persons.
The pupils, who were
reportedly rounding off their morning assembly in a hall, were thrown into
confusion as the abductors shot sporadically in the area.
In the ensuing confusion, four pupils, namely:
Isaac Adebisi, Okonkwo Emmanuel, Abu, and Jeremiah, were taken away by the
assailants. The English/Civic Education teacher, Lukman Oyerinde and the
Vice-Principal, A.O Oyesola, were also taken away.
A relative of one of the
pupils, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the kidnappers assured them
that their children were doing fine. he said,
“The kidnappers have
called us, but they sternly warned against making what they demanded as ransom
public. They assured us that our children are fine. They also told us not to
involve the police.
That is all I can say for
now.” Our correspondent learnt that the affected parents were in the school on
Friday to meet with the authorities as rescue efforts continued.
The Lagos State Police
Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, could not be reached for comments on Friday.
However, the State
Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, had earlier assured that the marine
police, the Rapid Response Squad, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and the
Nigerian Navy were all involved in the operation to rescue the victims.
Source: Citizen
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