Bandits Attack Varsity In Kogi, Abduct Students

Bandits have attacked the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara, Okene in Kogi, and abducted some students.

Security sources told Channels Television on Friday that quite a handful of students were in the class to read in preparation for the first-semester examination scheduled for Monday, May 13.

The gunmen were said to have entered the classrooms on Thursday night and started shooting sporadically into the air while an unspecified number of students were whisked away.

Our correspondent who visited the campus noticed the state Security Adviser Jerry Omadara alongside the Commandant of Army Records, Lokoja.

Omadara said the state government is monitoring the situation and will comment shortly.

“We are on top of the situation,” he said. “We are still assessing the situation, we will speak about it shortly.”

Nine Students Missing

Reacting to the attack, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, described the incident as very disturbing.

He said as soon as the state government received the report of the attack, the governor, Usman Ododo, activated the security architecture.

The reason, he stated, is to ensure that the kidnappers are tracked while the abducted students are rescued.

He also assured that the state government is on top of the matter, adding that nine students have been reported missing so far.

“We wish to assure students, parents and the entire people of Kogi State that the Government is on top of the situation and all the abducted students will be rescued alive. Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has also directed that security agents be positioned around all tertiary institutions in the state,” the statement read.

“Hundreds of local hunters who understand the terrain as well as the conventional security agents are currently combing the area to ensure safe rescue of the abducted students who were kidnapped in the classrooms. So far, nine students have been reported missing.”

Abductions In Schools

The Kogi varsity attack adds to the woes facing the nation as well as the continuous attacks by bandits who attack people at will, kidnap for ransom and kill innocent people.

At least 1,400 students have been kidnapped from Nigerian schools since 2014, when Boko Haram militants seized hundreds of schoolgirls from Chibok village, a small Christian-dominated community in Borno State. In recent years, abductions have been concentrated in the northwestern and central regions, where dozens of armed groups often target villagers and travellers for ransom.

On March 7, a total of 287 students were kidnapped when motorcycle-riding gunmen invaded the remote Kuriga School in Kaduna State. The 137 children were rescued in Zamfara state, an enclave notorious for kidnappings more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from their school.

Despite repeated assurances by the Federal Government and security agencies, the miscreants have continued to wreak havoc in several parts of the country.

The situation has led to the demand by many Nigerians and state governors for the creation of state police to nip insecurity in the bud.