Nigeria’s worsening security crisis came into sharp focus on Tuesday as 19 people were kidnapped in Rivers and Imo states in two coordinated overnight attacks that have intensified public fear and triggered urgent calls for action.
In Rivers State, gunmen suspected to be cultists stormed the Emohua Satellite Campus of the Rivers State University (RSU), abducting five students from an off-campus lodge around 2am. Hours later in Imo State, armed men believed to be herdsmen hijacked a commercial bus and seized all 14 passengers along the Owerri–Aba Expressway.
Rivers Attack: “They shot our security dog and dragged students away”
Survivors described terror as the attackers invaded the students’ hostel in Emohua, firing shots and killing the guard dog before seizing their victims.
One student who narrowly escaped said:
“They chased me with guns.
I heard shots behind me but I didn’t stop.
When I returned later, four of our colleagues were missing.”
The attack came despite recent student protests over escalating insecurity and demands to be relocated to the university’s main campus.
Just one day earlier, RSU Vice Chancellor Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi had ruled out relocation, insisting that security measures were being reinforced through community engagement.
Police: “Cultists carried out the abduction”
Rivers police spokesperson SP Grace Iringe-Koko confirmed the attack and said a manhunt is underway.
“A group of cultists numbering five abducted five persons and took them to an unknown destination.
Tactical teams have been deployed.”
The Commissioner of Police personally visited the crime scene.
Imo Attack: Bus hijacked on busy highway, passengers seized
In Imo State, terror struck around 7pm when gunmen emerged from the bush along the Ngor Okpala axis, shooting and forcing an Aba-bound bus to a halt before marching all passengers into the forest.
Eyewitnesses described chaos as motorists abandoned vehicles and fled into surrounding bushland.
“They came out shooting.
Everyone ran for their lives.
They took the whole bus,”
an eyewitness told IDNN.
The area has recorded multiple abductions in recent years, including the kidnapping of 18 passengers in May and over 20 passengers weeks later.
Imo police spokesperson Henry Okoye said the incident has not been formally reported but confirmed deployment of tactical teams for a fact-finding mission.
House of Reps reacts as kidnappings surge nationwide
Just as news of the attacks broke, the House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to hunt down killers of five policemen murdered last week in Bauchi — another sign of deepening insecurity across multiple states.
Fear, frustration and questions for government
The twin attacks have deepened national anxiety as Nigerians struggle with:
- recurring school kidnappings
- highway abductions
- widespread rural banditry
- slow response time from security forces
The Rivers incident especially raises concerns about student safety at satellite campuses located far from urban centres.
Police launch rescue operations
Both state commands say search-and-rescue efforts are active, with reinforcements deployed to forests and border communities.
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