Three female students of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University of Agriculture (JOSTUM), formerly known as the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), have regained their freedom after spending one week in captivity.
The students were kidnapped on February 25, 2025, while returning from a nighttime study session on campus, and their release brings relief to the university community and their families, although the details of their rescue remain unknown.
It remains unclear whether a ransom was paid or if security agencies played a role in the students’ release, which authorities have yet to confirm.
Shedrach Elum, spokesperson for the JOSTUM Students’ Union, verified the students’ return, stating, ‘I have been reliably informed that they are back safely.’ In a video obtained by HumAngle, one of the freed students recounted, ‘We survived… I am back. I am traumatized.’
A news flash shared by the Nigerian Television Authority on X on Thursday also confirmed that the students were rescued by the police.
Following their abduction, the university management ordered a one-week mid-semester break to address security challenges, as detailed in an internal memo titled “Security Situation on Campus” issued a day after the abduction.
The National Association of Nigerian Students and the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, had called for intensified efforts to secure their release.
