In a distressing development, a group of bandits infiltrated the Confluence University of Science and Technology in Osara, Okene, Kogi State, leading to the abduction of several students.
The incident occurred late Thursday evening as students were engrossed in their studies for forthcoming examinations.
Witnesses reported that the assailants entered the campus through adjacent woodland areas and disrupted the calm by firing shots into the air within three lecture halls.
“They trapped the students inside the halls and started taking them; the school was thrown into total confusion as fear-stricken students in other halls scurried to safety, scampering in various directions.
“By the time local security guards and the conventional security men at the gate engaged the bandits, they had already succeeded in abducting some students.
“But the efforts minimised the damage as the attackers didn’t go beyond the first three halls,” the witness said.
The students, who were gearing up for their semester exams set to begin on Monday, May 13, were caught off guard by the sudden attack.
One student, preferring to remain unnamed, recounted the harrowing experience of hiding in the bush for over an hour, only emerging when silence returned.
The Vice Chancellor of CUSTEC, Prof. Abdulraman Asipita, acknowledged the incident but did not disclose the exact number of students affected, assuring that the situation was being managed.
“I don’t talk to journalists on incidents like this, but I want you to know that we are on top of the situation,” he said.
Attempts to contact Kogi’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bethrand Onuoha, and the State Security Adviser, Retired Cdre Jerry Omodara, for comments were unsuccessful.
This event is part of a troubling trend of abductions for ransom, which has become increasingly common across various regions of the country.
Earlier in February, a similar incident saw the kidnapping of nine individuals along a well-traveled road in Kogi State.
