BY CHRIS OJI

 

The three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Ikorodu, Lagos state, who were taken from their hostel last Monday by some gunmen, have been rescued.

It is still not clear how the rescue operation was carried, but they were said to have been rescued at Igbo Okuta area of Ikorodu.

Witnesses told Daily Sun that the  girls were rescued by security agencies in an operation that started in the wee hours of Sunday, and  have been taken to an undisclosed hospital for medical examination.

A top police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said:   “We were certain that the girls would be rescued alive because we had good intelligence on the operations of these gangsters. We had them cornered and it was just a matter of time for them to reach a cul-de-sac.”

Steve Ayorinde, Lagos state commissioner for information and culture, confirmed the good news explaining that, “ no ransoms were paid,” he said. The three pupils – Timilehin Olusa, Tofunmi Popo Olaniyan and Deborah Akinayo – were abducted from their school on Monday night. The kidnappers reportedly contacted Victor Ayo Olusa, father of the first victim, to demand a ransom of N200m, which was later lowered to N20m per student. The Lagos state government blamed the crime on some pipeline vandals who have been sent out of business by the security agencies. Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary is owned by the Anglican church.