Rivers police confirm abduction of four varsity students, launch manhunt

By : Obinna Nwaoku

Date: 2 December 2025 7:53pm WAT

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The Nigeria Police Force

The Nigeria Police Force

The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of five students of Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwu, Port Harcourt, by suspected cultists in Emohua Local Government Area.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the incident occurred on 2 December 2025, at around 2:30 am, when a group of about five suspected cultists attacked an isolated area in Rumuche/Rumuohia Community, Emohua, and abducted the students.

Iringe-Koko noted that the State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, visited the scene of the incident along with other service commanders for an on-the-spot assessment.

She noted that the CP has mandated the Area Commander, alongside all tactical units and the Joint Taskforce, to intensify efforts to ensure the safe rescue of the abducted victims and apprehend the perpetrators.

“The CP has assured that all suspects involved will be brought to justice and made to face the full wrath of the law. The Police investigation team is working to identify the perpetrators and track down their hideouts.

The Rivers State Police Command has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice, assuring the public that everything is being done to ensure the safe release of the abducted students,” SP Iringe-Koko stated.

The Police are urging members of the public to remain calm and continue to support the Police with credible information that will aid ongoing investigations.

The abduction has sent panic among students of Rivers State University, who are now living in fear.

However, early Tuesday morning, students of Rivers State University led a procession to protest the alleged abduction of four students.

The students were seen carrying placards and presenting their complaints to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, who quietly listened to them.

They urged the school management to relocate the students on the Emohua campus to the main campus and to expedite measures to secure the release of their course mates.

Addressing the VC, the SOSAN Social Science Student Association of Nigeria representative at the Student Representative Council (SRC), RSU, Mariam Odungweru, said: “Sir, this morning four people were abducted and the guard at the hostel was killed and their automatic rifles carted away.

“Sir, other issues have been happening and I see what you are doing, the efforts you have made to meet the council chairman and other stakeholders, but Sir, my students are pained, they are hungry, they are stressed. This particular issue is holding them; they want to come back to this campus. I was not there during the incident, but it is gory to me. Please, Sir, we need your help.”

In response, the Vice-Chancellor assured that the school management’s priority is to secure students, saying the upcoming convocation slated for the weekend, where the school visitor, being the governor, is coming, will be used as an ample opportunity to let him know the issues confronting the school.

He said: “We are having our convocation on Friday and Saturday and we are very sure that this issue will be raised, discussed, and hopefully addressed. We are expecting the visitor, and I can tell you that there is no way the visitor will see all these things that are happening and not consider your pains. So I want to advise you right now: our priority should be how we can secure these students.

That should be our priority. Let us not dissipate our energy; let us put our energy together. If you have information, share it. Those who can pull out from lectures can do so because there will be no lectures.

“We are going to concentrate efforts in ensuring that we get our students who were kidnapped safely back.”

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