Bandits invaded the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, Okene, in Kogi State on Thursday night and abducted several students.
News About Nigeria learned that the attack occurred around 9pm while the students were preparing for their upcoming exams.
The students were preparing for their first-semester examination, scheduled to commence on Monday, May 13, when the bandits struck.
According to eyewitnesses, the bandits entered the university through the bush and made their way to three lecture halls, shooting into the air to scare the students.
They then trapped the students inside the halls and began taking them away.
The incident caused widespread panic, with students in other halls running for safety, the eyewitnesses said.
Local security guards and conventional security personnel at the gate engaged the bandits, but not before they had already abducted some students.
However, their efforts minimised the damage, as the attackers were unable to go beyond the first three halls.
“But the efforts minimised the damage as the attackers didn’t go beyond the first three halls,” Punch Newspaper quoted a source as saying.
A student, who recounted how he and some colleagues ran to the bush, said they hid there for over an hour, only venturing out when the situation became quiet.
“We only ventured out when everywhere became quiet,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor of CUSTEC, Prof. Abdulraman Asipita, has confirmed the incident but refused to provide details on the number of students abducted.
“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.
However, efforts to reach the Commissioner of Police in Kogi, Mr. Bethrand Onuoha, were unsuccessful.
