The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has issued an urgent appeal to the Nigerian Police Force, Anambra State Government, and other security agencies, demanding immediate action to secure the release of six Nigerian Law School students kidnapped en route to Yola, Adamawa State.
The group raised the alarm in a statement released on Monday and endorsed by its Board Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi.
The victims — Ernest Okafor, Ogbuka Fabian, Nwamma Philip, Okechukwu Obadiegwu, Obalem Emmanuel, and Obiorah David — are all of Anambra origin and were reportedly abducted by armed bandits while traveling between Benue and Taraba states.
According to the civil rights organization, a fellow law student at the Yola campus, Damilare Adenola, confirmed the abduction during a phone conversation on Sunday.
“These six abductees are all from Anambra State and are already qualified lawyers, having completed their standard five-year law programmes at their respective universities,” Intersociety stated. “They recently began the mandatory one-year Nigerian Law School programme at the Yola campus, preparing for their Call to Bar.”
Intersociety further disclosed that the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of N120 million — N20 million per student — and called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo as well as the Police Commissioners in Anambra, Benue, and Taraba States to swing into action.
“We are making a firm call for their immediate and unconditional freedom,” the group stressed.
“Governor Chukwuma Soludo must step up and work collaboratively with the Police Commissioner in Anambra and his counterparts in Benue and Taraba, along with the governors of those two states and other relevant authorities, to guarantee the safe release of these young professionals and their safe return to the Nigerian Law School in Yola,” the group added.
“They represent a significant asset to Anambra State. The potential loss of such six promising legal minds is a price the state cannot afford,” Intersociety warned.
The organization also turned attention to the rising insecurity in the southeast, pointing fingers at “fleeing Jihadist Fulani herdsmen” as being responsible for the recent mass killings of at least 28 villagers in Imo State. The group said the violence was linked to recent vigilante operations in Anambra State.
According to Intersociety, these armed elements had been dislodged from forests located in Orumba South and Aguata LGAs of Anambra between July 22 and 23. The expelled attackers allegedly regrouped and launched deadly reprisal assaults in three Imo villages — Umualaoma, Ndi-Ejezie, and Ndi-Akunwanta-Uno, all in Ideato North Local Government Area.
The massacre, the group said, took place between 8:00 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Among the victims were a young footballer, food sellers, and married couples, all killed at the Nkwo-Umualaoma Market Square during the coordinated attack.
Eyewitness accounts indicated that the assailants arrived on motorcycles, clad in military camouflage and heavily armed, wreaking havoc on the villages and gunning down innocent residents before fleeing into the forests near Okigwe.
“After the initial onslaught, they killed four additional unarmed Christian natives before vanishing into the Okigwe axis and adjacent forests, escaping without being intercepted or apprehended,” Intersociety concluded.
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