Gamji College and Sokoto government deny report of 18 students’ abduction

Gamji College of Health Technology in Sokoto and the Sokoto State Government have denied a report that 18 students of the institution were abducted while travelling to Oyo State.

The college said no incident involving its students had occurred and that they were safe at their various destinations. The state government also rejected the identification of the alleged victims as current students of the institution.

The denials followed a SaharaReporters account alleging that students travelling in a chartered bus from Sokoto to Oke-Ogun in Oyo State were abducted. The allegation has not been independently established, and the accounts differ over who was involved.

College registrar Abdulrahman Bello told Premium Times on Monday that the report was false. A written statement subsequently sent to the newspaper said no Gamji College of Health Technology student had been kidnapped and asked parents and guardians to use the institution’s official channels for information.

Vanguard reported a separate clarification issued by Abubakar Bawa, the Director-General of Media and Publicity at Government House, Sokoto. The state government identified a person reportedly abducted as Halima Sokeni, a former student of Gamji College of Nursing Sciences in the More Area of Sokoto, rather than a current student of the health technology college.

According to that government statement, Sokeni graduated as a midwife in September 2026 and was travelling home on October 1 when she and other passengers were reportedly abducted in Niger State. This account does not establish the allegation that 18 current students of the named health technology college were seized.

Premium Times contacted Niger State Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun after the original report mentioned Mokwa. He said he was not immediately aware of the incident and would check. He had not provided further information when the newspaper filed its report; its calls and message to Sokoto Police spokesperson Ahmed Rufai had also gone unanswered.

Sources: Premium Times, Vanguard