LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Twenty medical students on their way to an annual convention have been kidnapped in eastern Nigeria, police and university sources said Saturday.

The Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students said in a statement released Saturday that the students were travelling to the convention in the city of Enugu when they were abducted on Thursday evening.

Fortune Olaye, the secretary general of the Nigerian Medical Students’ Association, said that 20 students from the Maiduguri and Jos universities and one doctor travelling with them had been kidnapped.

He said there had been a ransom demand in return for their release.

The kidnapping was also confirmed by Catherine Anene, public relations officer for police in Benue State, where the kidnapping took place.

Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue State, said in a statement that he had “directed security agencies in the state to intensify efforts and ensure the safe release” of the students.

The national police said in a statement that it had ordered the deployment of “advanced helicopters and drones, as well as the use of specialized tactical vehicles to facilitate the search and secure the safe return of the victims”.

The students were abducted on the road near the town of Otukpo, less than 150 kilometres from Enugu, which is regularly the target of attacks and kidnappings.

Nigeria has been facing a significant resurgence in kidnappings due to a severe economic crisis which is pushing more people towards crime.

But official figures are unreliable as many cases are not reported.

In 2022, a law was passed banning payments to kidnappers — but many families say they feel they have no choice but to cough up the ransoms demanded.

Nigerian consultancy firm SBM Intelligence said it had recorded 4,777 cases between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu coming to power in May 2023 and January 2024.