Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State came under attack again yesterday when bandits invaded Government Secondary School in Iluke Bunu, killing the Vice Principal, Mr Gani Anifowose, a septuagenarian, and a six-year-old boy.
Daily Trust learnt that the gunmen struck around 9.45 am on Wednesday when students were sitting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Some students and residents were reportedly abducted, but the police said they could not confirm any mass abduction.
The incident added to a renewed wave of bandit attacks in recent times amid growing calls by groups and security experts on the government to double down on tackling escalating insecurity across the country.
A source told one of our correspondents that three students and some residents were kidnapped in the Wednesday attack.
“The major target of the attack was UBE Iluke Bunu, where students from three communities were sitting the WASSCE examination at the time of the invasion. The vice principal of Government Secondary School, Aharha-Bunu, Mr. Gani Anifowose, was killed alongside two other persons. Three students and some residents were abducted in the attack,” the source said.
He sympathised with the families of those who lost their lives in the attack, assuring them that efforts were being intensified to arrest the culprits.
“The local government administration is working closely with relevant security agencies and stakeholders to ensure that lasting measures are put in place to forestall any recurrence of such attacks,” the chairman added.
The Kogi State Police Command, in a statement by its spokesperson, ASP Afusat Oyiza Saliu, confirmed the vice principal’s killing. She identified the two other slain victims as one Mr Sunday Jacob Alhassan, 70, and a six-year-old boy, Sunday Ayele.
According to the statement, the command received distress information at about 10 am that a large number of bandits on about 40 motorcycles had invaded Government Secondary School, Iluke Bunu, to abduct 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 mobilising 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,” it added.
However, the police authorities noted that preliminary findings did not show conclusive evidence of a successful mass abduction of students or other residents, but said: “investigations and ongoing assessments are continuing to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”
The command assured that efforts were being made to bring the perpetrators to justice, adding that during the exchange of gunfire, a bandit was neutralised while security operatives sustained gunshot injuries and are receiving medical treatment.