Bandits killed three persons on Wednesday during an attack on a school in Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi, disrupting an ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
A statement by the spokesperson of the Kogi State Police Command, Saliu Oyiza Afusat, said the bandits killed the school vice principal, a six-year-old boy and a 70-year-old man during the attack.
The command said it received distress information around 10 am that a large number of “heavily armed bandits, operating on about 40 motorcycles”, invaded Government Secondary School, Iluke Bunu, with the suspected intention of abducting students and other residents of the community.
Upon receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer, Kabba ‘A’ Division, immediately activated a coordinated security response by mobilizing personnel from the Division, alongside operatives of the Police Mobile Force and the Command’s Tactical Teams. Other security personnel already deployed in the area, including military personnel and local vigilante groups, were equally alerted and joined the operation.
‘’The combined security operatives engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun duel, forcing the criminals to flee into the surrounding bush. Preliminary findings indicate that there is presently no conclusive evidence of a successful mass abduction of students or other residents. However, investigations and ongoing assessments are continuing to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
‘’Regrettably, during the attack, three persons lost their lives. They include Mr Ganiyu Anifowose, the Vice Principal of UBE Secondary/Primary School, Iluke; Mr. Sunday Jacob Alhassan, aged 70 years; and one Sunday Ayele, aged 6 years. The Command commiserates with the families of the deceased and assures them that every effort is being made to bring the perpetrators to justice.
‘’During the exchange of gunfire, one of the bandits was neutralized, while a security operative attached to the joint team sustained gunshot injuries and is currently receiving medical treatment.
‘’The Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command, has ordered sustained bush-combing and confidence-building patrols across the affected area. Joint security operatives comprising the Police, military personnel, and local vigilantes are currently conducting intensive operations aimed at apprehending the fleeing criminals and preventing any further threat to lives and property.
In a separate statement, Kingsley Fanwo, the commissioner for information and communication, said “Reports available to the government indicated that the bandits disrupted an ongoing WAEC examination”.
Fanwo said the attackers had already begun marching students into the bush when security operatives engaged them in a fierce gun battle.
The government thanked the military, local vigilantes, hunters, and other security personnel whose intervention prevented what it described as a potentially devastating mass abduction.
“Let it be clearly stated that Kogi State will not submit to terror. Criminal elements seeking to undermine the peace and security of our State will continue to meet a determined, coordinated, and uncompromising response from security agencies and the Government,” the statement reads.
