‘We Survived’: Benue Varsity Students Regain Freedom After a Week in Captivity

Three students of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University (JOSTUM), formerly the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Benue State, North-central Nigeria, have regained their freedom after spending a week in captivity. They were released on the evening of Wednesday, March 3, according to multiple sources.

Shedrach Elum, spokesperson for the JOSTUM Students’ Union, confirmed the students’ return, saying, “I have been reliably informed that [they] are back safely.” In a video seen by HumAngle, one of the freed students said, “We survived…I am back. I am truamatised.”

The students, all women, were abducted by unidentified armed persons on the university campus on Tuesday evening, Feb. 25, as they made their way to night studies. Days later, the university ordered students to vacate the hostels for an “emergency mid-semester break.”

A family friend of one of the students, who requested anonymity, told HumAngle that the kidnappers had demanded a ₦40 million ransom. Desperate to secure their release, the families resorted to “negotiating and raising funds quietly.” HumAngle could not independently verify whether the ransom was paid. Meanwhile, Benue State Police Command spokesperson Josephine Anene did not respond to requests for comment. When HumAngle contacted the command’s phone lines directly, an officer—who declined to give his name—stated that an official report would be released in due course. “When it is ready, you will get it,” he said.

Kidnapping for ransom continues to spread across Nigeria as criminal groups seek alternative sources of funding. Nigerian households paid an estimated ₦2.2 trillion ($1.4 billion) in ransoms between May 2023 and April 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Investigations by HumAngle have revealed that ransom demands often extend beyond cash, sometimes including mobile phones, motorbikes, and other valuables.

Although ransom payments were banned in 2022, these payments persist—often carried out in secrecy or, at times, openly crowdfunded on social media.

In August 2024, 20 medical students—including a house officer—from the Universities of Jos and Maiduguri were kidnapped in Benue State. Their captors demanded a ₦50 million ransom. Student bodies and concerned netizens launched multiple crowdfunding efforts. However, when they were eventually freed, the police said “not a kobo was paid” and described their release as a result of a “tactical and professional” rescue operation coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

For the freed JOSTUM students and their families, the nightmare is over, but the trauma remains. Across Nigeria, many others remain in captivity, waiting for their chance to return home, while countless more live under the constant threat of abduction.

To address security concerns at JOSTUM, the university management has announced plans to deploy a “standby army presence” on campus before classes resume. “This measure aims to deter potential threats and ensure a safe environment for academic activities,” said Elum.