Police reacts to alleged death of kidnapped Lagos students

Lagos State Police command has dismissed rumours that the six male students of Igbonla Government College, Epe, kidnapped seven weeks ago were dead.

Speculations have it that the kidnappers killed the boys, following a breakdown in the negotiation with their parents over the ransom.

On Tuesday, Fatai Owoseni, Commissioner of Police in Lagos, said: “We are on course to rescue the boys. The children are fine and we will continue to intensify efforts to ensure that they are returned home and reunited with their parents”.

“This is a sensitive matter and our main objective is to successfully reunite them with their parents and that will soon be achieved,” the police boss said.

Peter Jonah, Isiaq Rahmon, Adebayo George, Judah Agbausi, Pelumi Philips and Farouq Yusuf were abducted on May 25, 2017.

The kidnappers initially demanded N50 million ransom but stopped communication after three of their gang members were arrested by the police last month, despite collecting N10 million from the parents of the students.

They resumed talks last week and after collecting another N20 million from the parents, they failed to release the boys at the weekend as promised.

The kidnappers made a demand for another N1.5 million, a development that caused a stalemate in the negotiations.