Abducted Edo Seminarians Plead for Release in Kidnap Video

Two teenage seminarians kidnapped from the Catholic Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary School in Ivianokpodi, Etsako East, Edo State, have appeared in a disturbing video pleading for their lives. The students were abducted on July 10 when gunmen attacked the school, killing a civil defence officer.

One abductee was freed shortly after the attack, but the two remaining victims are still in captivity. In the video, the seminarians were surrounded by armed, masked men and seen holding dried human skulls while appealing to their parents and the public to raise ransom money, warning that their captors had threatened to kill them.

The Catholic Diocese of Auchi confirmed the authenticity of the video and said negotiations with the kidnappers were ongoing. The church noted that the ransom demand remained a challenge, calling the video as a sign of the abductors’ frustration. Police reaction to the footage was not available at press time.