Bandits storm Kogi school during WAEC exam, kill vice principal, 2 others

ARMED bandits on Wednesday attacked a secondary school in Iluke Bunu, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, disrupting an ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and leaving 3 people dead.

The Kogi State Police Command said the assailants, believed to have arrived on about 40 motorcycles, invaded Government Secondary School with the apparent aim of kidnapping students and residents.

In a statement, police spokesperson Saliu Afusat said security agencies received a distress call around 10 a.m. and immediately launched a coordinated response involving officers from Kabba ‘A’ Division, operatives of the Police Mobile Force, tactical units, military personnel and local vigilantes.

The combined security team engaged the attackers in a gun battle, forcing them to abandon their mission and retreat into nearby bushes.

Kogi Sttate Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, said reports available to the government showed that the attack interrupted an ongoing WAEC examination.

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According to him, some students had already been rounded up and were being marched into the forest before security personnel confronted the gunmen and prevented what could have been a large-scale abduction.

The state government praised the swift intervention of security forces, hunters and vigilante groups, noting that their efforts averted a potentially devastating incident.

Fanwo also reaffirmed the government’s determination to tackle insecurity, insisting that criminal groups would continue to face a coordinated response from the state and security agencies.

While concerns initially emerged over the possibility of a mass kidnapping, the police said preliminary investigations had not established any successful abduction of students or residents.

However, authorities said investigations were continuing to determine the full details of the incident.

The command confirmed that 3 people were killed during the attack. They were identified as Ganiyu Anifowose, vice principal of UBE Secondary/Primary School; Iluke, 70-year-old Sunday Jacob Alhassan, and six-year-old Sunday Ayele.

Police extended condolences to the bereaved families and pledged to ensure those behind the attack are arrested and prosecuted.

The command also disclosed that one of the bandits was killed during the exchange of gunfire, while some members of the joint security team sustained gunshot wounds and are receiving treatment.

To forestall further attacks, the commissioner of police has ordered intensified bush-combing operations and increased patrols across the affected communities.

According to the police, joint teams comprising security personnel and local vigilantes are continuing efforts to track down the fleeing attackers and maintain security in the area.

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Residents were urged to remain vigilant and provide useful information to security agencies as operations continue.

The attack adds to growing concerns over increasing assaults on schools across the country.

On May 15, bandits abducted about 39 pupils and 7 teachers from 3 schools in the Oriire axis of Ogbomoso, Oyo State. An assistant headmaster and a motorcyclist were killed during the incident.

The outrage deepened days later when Michael Oyedokun, one of the kidnapped teachers, was reportedly beheaded by his captors.

In a separate incident on May 16, suspected Boko Haram insurgents abducted about 42 pupils and students from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State. :::