Five students of Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, a major public university located in southern Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, have regained their freedom after being abducted from the institution’s satellite campus in Emuoha Local Government Area, a district in Rivers State, Nigeria.
The abduction, carried out on Tuesday by yet-to-be-identified armed groups commonly referred to in southern Nigeria as cult gangs, triggered intense panic across the satellite campus population. Students immediately staged a protest, demanding that university authorities relocate them to the main campus where security presence is stronger.
During the protest, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, addressed the visibly frightened students and announced a temporary halt to all academic activities at the Emuoha campus. He directed all students residing in the area to vacate the premises until further notice, citing rising insecurity in the region.
Okay News reports that the students were rescued during a coordinated operation carried out in Rumuodogo 2 Community, a rural settlement in Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers State, by tactical units of the Rivers State Police Command, which is the state-level law enforcement formation under the Nigeria Police Force. The operation also involved other national security agencies and support from local residents.
Confirming the development, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Superintendent Grace Iringe-Koko, said all five students were found alive and without injuries.
In an official statement, Iringe-Koko explained:
“Rivers State Police Command wishes to inform the public that on 04/12/2025 at about 0100 hours, the five abducted victims — Prince London ‘Male’, Azubuike Kelechukwu ‘Male’, Elizabeth Aniete ‘Female’, Onyebuchi Precious ‘Male’, and London Sampson ‘Male’ — who were abducted by yet-to-be-identified cultists from their isolated residences, have been successfully rescued unhurt.”
She added that the operation was successful due to collaboration between police tactical teams, other security units, and community members in the area.
According to her statement,
“The rescued victims have been taken to the hospital for medical examination. Intensive efforts are ongoing to track down and arrest the fleeing cultists or abductors.”
The rescue has brought some relief to parents, students, and community members who have been alarmed by rising incidents of kidnapping in parts of southern Nigeria.
