FACT-CHECK: Is It True That Bandits Kidnap 18 Oyo Students Travelling From Sokoto?

A freshly reported claim that bandits kidnapped 18 students from Oyo State who were travelling from Sokoto has triggered concerns among families and residents, but the alleged abduction has not been independently confirmed.

The claim emerged on Monday after SaharaReporters reported that students of Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto, were allegedly attacked while travelling in a chartered bus to Oke-Ogun in Oyo State.

According to the report, the driver was killed during the attack while the students were taken away. An Oke-Ogun youth leader cited by the newspaper said the victims were heading to Igboho and had been moved towards the Mokwa axis in Niger State.

The report initially created confusion over the identity of the students, with the source clarifying that they were not students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, but were from Gamji College of Health Technology.

However, the institution has since denied that any of its students was kidnapped.

The registrar of Gamji College, Abdulrahman Bello, told Premium Times that the report was false. He subsequently provided a statement from the school which said no student of the institution had been kidnapped and that its students were safe and at their various destinations.

The school urged parents, guardians and members of the public to disregard the report and rely on its official channels for information concerning its students.

Premium Times also contacted the Niger State Police Command over the claim that the alleged abductors and their victims had moved towards Mokwa. The command’s spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said he was not immediately aware of the reported incident and said he would verify it.

Attempts to obtain confirmation from the Sokoto State Police Command were also unsuccessful at the time Premium Times published its report.

With the institution denying the alleged abduction and no police confirmation available in the reports examined, the claim that 18 Oyo-bound students were freshly kidnapped from Sokoto cannot presently be established as fact.

Verdict: Unverified.

The reported abduction should therefore be treated as an unconfirmed claim pending verification from the police or another credible authority. The denial by Gamji College also means that the reported number of 18 victims cannot presently be independently established.