A fundraising effort has been started by student leaders at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to free their fellow students who were abducted by gunmen on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Sodiq Ajani, the president of the Polytechnic's students' union, and Joy Okolie, the press secretary, had released a statement asking for donations to save their mates.
Adejare Olayemi, Oluwatobi Orekoya, and Aminat Taiwo, three MAPOLY students, were abducted on Friday while traveling to Ibadan, Oyo State, along with Professor Adigun Agbaje, a former deputy vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan.
According to reports, the professor and pupils were picked up close to the expressway's Sat Guru Maharaji Garden, Ibadan end.
Later, the kidnappers got in touch with the families of the victims and demanded N50m for Agbaje and N10m apiece for the students.
According to information obtained, the kidnappers agreed to accept N2m for each student during negotiations.
Ajani said to PUNCH on Sunday regarding the fundraising efforts, "Through friends and other supports, we have raised over N900,000 as of this morning (Sunday). The money is not complete yet; we are still soliciting more financial support.
“There are only a few hours left before the deadline given by the kidnappers.”
The MAPOLY students' union has contacted the state administration, the police, and the Department of State Security, according to Ajani.
Segun Orekoya, a member of Oluwatobi's family, informed the newspaper on Sunday night that she had been released.
She and her buddy Taiwo were freed, he said, and N2.2 million had been paid as ransom.
He stated, “It is confirmed, they were released this evening (Sunday). The two girls were released after the kidnappers collected N2.2m.”
According to Ajani, the male student Adejare has also been freed.
Unverified rumors also claim that the professor from the Unversity of Ibadan has also been released.
