Bandits abduct Kogi varsity students

Bandits invaded the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTEC), Osara, Okene, in Kogi State and abducted some students on Thursday night.

An eyewitness account noted that the bandits swooped on the university around 9 p.m. while the students were reading for their upcoming exams.

The source said that the bandits came in through the bush, went into three lecture halls, and began to shoot into the air to scare the students.

“They trapped the students inside the halls and began taking them; fear-stricken students in other halls scrambled to safety, scampering in various directions, throwing the school into total confusion.”

“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 mitigated the damage because the attackers didn’t go beyond the first three halls,” the source said.

According to the source, the students were preparing for their first-semester examination, expected to commence on Monday, May 13, when the bandits struck.

A student, who craved anonymity, said that he and some colleagues ran to the bush and hid there for “more than an hour.”.

“We only ventured out when everywhere became quiet,” he said.

When contacted, CUSTEC Vice Chancellor Prof. Abdulraman Asipita confirmed the incident but refused to give details of the number of students abducted.

“I don’t talk to journalists about incidents like this, but I want you to know that we are on top of the situation,” he said.

Efforts to reach the Commissioner of Police in Kogi, Mr. Bethrand Onuoha, were not successful.

Retired Cdre Jerry Omodara, State Security Adviser, could equally not be reached for comments, as calls to his line were neither picked up nor returned.

Like in several parts of the country, abduction for ransom is the new normal. In February, gunmen reportedly kidnapped nine travellers in Oshokoshoko, along the Kabba/Obajana/Lokoja Road in Kogi State.

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