Sokoto Government Dismisses Report of 18 Health Students Being Abducted

The Sokoto State Government has rejected an account stating that 18 learners at Gamji College of Health Technology had been kidnapped while on their way to Oyo State. Officials said the event concerned a former student who was traveling home alongside other passengers. Abubakar Bawa, Director General of Media and Publicity at Government House, released a statement calling the report untrue. He also said that no present student of the private school had been abducted. The government named the former student as Halima Sokeni. She had earned her midwife qualification from Gamji College of Nursing Sciences in the More Area of Sokoto in September 2026. The statement said Sokeni was going home on Thursday, October 1, when she and other passengers were seized in Niger State. According to the government, the contested report alleged that 18 students were aboard a chartered bus from the college to Oyo State when suspected terrorists took them. The government asked the public to ignore that version of events. It also called on journalists and media organizations to confirm facts before publishing, saying that unverified stories can create needless alarm and mislead the public.