Security concerns surge as students and bus passengers are seized
No fewer than 19 persons were kidnapped in separate incidents across Rivers and Imo states yesterday, highlighting the worsening insecurity in Southern Nigeria.
The victims include five students of Rivers State University (RSU) and 14 passengers traveling in a commercial bus in Imo State. These brazen attacks occurred just hours before President Bola Tinubu nominated a new Defence Minister and held a meeting with security chiefs over the national security situation.
The disturbing events underscore the persistent challenge facing security forces and local communities in the region. The wave of abductions has prompted immediate police action and calls from the House of Representatives for comprehensive government intervention. The incidents follow weeks of protests by students concerned about their safety in university environments.
Rivers state university students targeted in off-campus attack
In Rivers State, the attack targeted the Emohua Satellite Campus of Rivers State University in the early hours of yesterday. Gunmen, suspected to be members of a cult group, abducted at least five RSU students at gunpoint. The victims were seized from their off-campus residence located in the Emuoha area of Emohua Local Government Area of the state.
This incident occurs despite recent protests by students living outside the campus who had appealed to the university management for relocation to the main campus in Port Harcourt. However, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, had ruled out closing the Emohua campus just a day before the abduction. He had asserted that the university was addressing security concerns through engagement with community leaders and security agencies.
A student who narrowly escaped the abduction provided a terrifying eyewitness account of the attack. The student described how the gunmen invaded their residence around 2:00 am, shooting their security dog dead before seizing the victims. The escapee recounted being pursued and shot at multiple times while fleeing to the gate.
The Rivers State police command spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the abduction, explicitly identifying the perpetrators as cultists. She reported that a group of five cultists stormed an isolated area of Rumuchi/Rumuohia, abducted five persons, and took them to an unknown destination. The police have launched an immediate manhunt for the abductors, with the Commissioner of Police personally visiting the location to ensure the safe rescue of the victims.
Bus hijacked, 14 passengers abducted in imo state
The attack in Imo State involved the hijacking of a fully loaded Aba-bound bus with 14 passengers on Monday evening. The gunmen, who eyewitnesses suspect to be herdsmen, launched the attack in the Ngor Okpala area of Imo State. The bus was traveling from Owerri to Aba, Abia State, when the attack occurred.
Eyewitnesses reported that the gunmen emerged from the bush, shot sporadically, and quickly took control of the bus. The suddenness of the attack led to widespread panic, causing other vehicles to stop abruptly or reverse as passengers frantically scampered for safety. One source described the terrifying pandemonium, noting that many passengers ran into the bush to escape the danger.
This latest incident mirrors similar patterns of abductions in the same area. Suspected herders had previously kidnapped about 18 passengers in May 2025, followed by another incident weeks later where more than 20 passengers were reportedly kidnapped and two persons were killed. These recurrent events highlight the vulnerability of the Owerri-Aba Express Road.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Imo State, Henry Okoye, stated that the command had not yet received a formal report about the incident at the time of the statement. Nonetheless, he confirmed that the Commissioner of Police had deployed tactical units to embark on robust fact-finding patrols along the Owerri–Aba Express Road. He assured the public that further details would be communicated as soon as the police gather more information.
House of representatives calls for action over Bauchi police killings
In a separate but related security development, the House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to swiftly apprehend the armed men responsible for killing five police officers in Bauchi State. The officers were ambushed on Saturday, November 29, 2025, in Sabon Sara, Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency, while carrying out a security operation. Two other officers were injured in the deadly attack.
The motion, moved by Mansur Soro, who represents the constituency, noted that credible intelligence linked the attack to an armed group resisting the arrest of a dethroned hamlet head. Soro expressed concern that the security threat posed by the armed group and the hamlet head had not been sufficiently addressed. The House commended the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, for his security efforts in a state that has been largely free of banditry for several years.
The House of Representatives adopted the motion, calling on relevant government bodies, including the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, the Police Trust Fund, and the North East Development Commission (NEDC), to provide immediate palliatives and welfare support to the families of the slain officers. This assistance is meant to include financial relief and educational support for the children of the deceased. Lawmakers further mandated the Inspector-General of Police to fast-track the payment of all statutory entitlements, insurance benefits, and full medical treatment for the injured officers, stressing the importance of institutional support for morale.
