Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo commended the security agencies for their coordinated operations, describing the rescue as a testament to the effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration in tackling insecurity in the state.
“I have said it before, and I want to reiterate that this administration will never negotiate with criminals or pay ransom. They may come into our state, but they will not return to where they came from,” the governor declared.
He also praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing the necessary support to security agencies, assuring the President that Kogi State would continue to justify the confidence reposed in it.
“I want to commend Mr President and Commander-in-Chief, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for giving us all the support needed to defeat insecurity. We will not disappoint him in Kogi State,” he added.
The governor, however, ordered a full investigation into the circumstances that led to the conduct of the NECO examination at the abandoned school.
According to him, preliminary findings indicated that the school had earlier been shut down because of its remote location and security concerns.
“I await the outcome of the investigation to determine why the principal decided to take only 10 students to an isolated location for the examination,” he said.
Ododo urged residents to remain calm, assuring them that security operatives were on the trail of the kidnappers and would ensure they were arrested and prosecuted.
He disclosed that the victims comprised the school principal, Elder Daniel Iyama; a NECO official, Mr Solomon Peter; and two female candidates identified as Miss Dorcas Sunday and another Miss Dorcas.
Shedding more light on the operation that led to the successful rescue of all the victims, kogi state commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Kankarofi explained that immediately after the incident was reported on July 14, he led a joint assessment team to the scene alongside the Commander of the 12 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. Kasim Sidi, and the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (rtd).
He said additional tactical teams, intelligence assets and operational personnel were subsequently deployed, while joint security operatives, including the police, military, local vigilantes and hunters, launched extensive bush-combing operations across forests and neighbouring communities.
“The sustained operational pressure mounted on the kidnappers forced them to abandon the victims, who were successfully rescued alive at about 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, 2026,” the police commissioner said.
Kankarofi revealed that investigations had uncovered that the examination was conducted at an abandoned government school previously shut down by the state government due to security concerns.
According to him, intelligence available to the police indicated that the abandoned premises had been unlawfully converted into a so-called special examination centre for 10 candidates writing the ongoing NECO examination.
He further disclosed that investigators were probing allegations that some individuals facilitated the use of the abandoned facility despite its closure, adding that there were also claims that the classroom had become notorious as a venue for examination malpractice.
The police commissioner stressed that public examinations must only be conducted in approved and secure centres, noting that any arrangement exposing candidates and officials to avoidable danger was unacceptable.
He commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, Governor Ododo, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), local vigilantes and hunters for their support and collaboration in the rescue operation.
Kankarofi assured residents that efforts were ongoing to track down and arrest all those responsible for the abduction, while urging examination bodies, school authorities and members of the public to cooperate with investigators.
Meanwhile, the National Examination Council NECO issued the rebuttal on Friday in response to comments reportedly made by the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo, following Tuesday’s abduction of five persons linked to the ongoing 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination ,SSCE, at the school.
While expressing sympathy for the victims and applauding the Kogi State Government and security agencies for securing the rescue of the remaining four abductees, NECO faulted the commissioner’s description of the school, insisting that it is a long-established public institution with a verifiable history of participating in national examinations.
According to the Council,in a statement signed by the Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani, Government Secondary School, Olowa, is owned by the Kogi State Government, has existed for more than 40 years, and has consistently presented candidates for the NECO Senior School Certificate Examination since 2000.
NECO further clarified that the school’s principal, Elder Daniel Iyamaa, who was among those abducted, is a Grade Level 17 officer in the Kogi State Civil Service, while the kidnapped examination supervisor, Mr. Solomon Audu, is a Grade Level 12 officer employed by the state government and posted to Community Secondary School, Effin.
The Council also dismissed suggestions that the candidates involved were irregular entrants into the examination.
It stated that all 28 candidates registered by the school for the 2026 SSCE are bona fide students duly enrolled by Government Secondary School, Olowa, in collaboration with the Kogi State Government, and not external candidates as allegedly implied.
To reinforce its position, NECO released the school’s SSCE enrolment figures over the past five years, showing that it presented 21 candidates in 2021, 20 in 2022, 28 in 2023, 40 in 2024, and 20 in 2025.
The Council added that the Kogi State Government also paid the examination fees of 51 candidates from the same school for the recently concluded 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), further underscoring its status as a recognised public secondary school.
Highlighting the prevailing security challenges in the state, NECO disclosed that before the commencement of the 2026 SSCE, its Kogi State Coordinator had written to security agencies, requesting enhanced protection for examination centres across the state.
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