On February 2, 2022, a group of armed individuals entered a students’ hostel on the campus of DS Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic in the city of Afowowa, where they ransacked dorm rooms, stole computers and other student belongings, and kidnapped two students. Other students, angry over the failure by local police to respond to the incident, engaged in a public protest the day after the incident.

As of this report, public reporting on the outcome of the incident had not been made publicly available.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the targeting and abduction of higher education community members. State authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of scholars, students, and staff, including by investigating and holding perpetrators of such acts responsible, in line with international human rights standards. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, patterns of abductions targeting members of the higher education system undermine the conditions needed for the meaningful exercise of the right to education and academic freedom.

Sources:

*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/02/03/gunmen-kidnap-two-poly-students-in-ogun/

https://dailypost.ng/2022/02/02/ogun-students-block-lagos-abeokuta-road-as-gunmen-allegedly-kidnap-two/
https://www.ripplesnigeria.com/ogun-students-protest-armed-robbery-abduction-of-colleagues/