Armed gunmen kidnap 24 students in Zamfara
By Ologeh Joseph Chibu
Armed men have seized at least 24 students in the Islamic state of Zamfara, located in North West Nigeria.
The incidence took place in the early morning hours on Friday.
The victims were students of the Federal University located 20kms in the outskirts of Gusau, the State capital
Irohinoodua was informed that the bandits struck with brazen audacity, abducting approximately 24 students from the peaceful Sabon-Gida community in the Bungudu Local Government Area of the state.
Sabon-Gida village is a tranquil community that stands in close proximity to the main campus of the Federal University of Gusau.
The community was struck with awe as parents scramble to locate their children at dawn.
Local account claim those taken hostage during horrifying episode were young female students.
The sun rose on Friday with ominous silence that enveloped the area bearing witness to the absence of any official security response.
The local police force had yet to release any statement regarding the incident at the time this report was filed.
One resident of Sabon-Gida, Nazeer Sabon-Gida, shared details of the events with Irohinodua in trembling words.
He revealed that the bandits, under the cover of darkness, descended upon the community like a storm, their indiscriminate gunfire shattering the tranquility that once defined the area.
The clock struck 3 am he said, when terror came into Sabon-Gida, leaving its residents in shock and despair, while the fate of the kidnapped students hung in uncertainty.
“They entered the town around 3:00 am and started shooting indiscriminately,” he expressed.
“We have yet to confirm the number of students kidnapped because the bandits entered three hostels and kidnapped all the students there. It is difficult to ascertain their numbers now.
“They were seriously engaged with the army troops but the way these bandits operate, they will divide themselves into two, one group will move with the kidnapped victims while the other will stay behind to protect the first group,” he shared.
“The first group had left with the students while the second group engaged the army in a gun duel.”
Earlier in the year, in the month of June, students from the University took a united stand against banditry. They raised their voices in protest against the alarming surge in kidnappings, which had sadly ensnared some of their fellow schoolmates in the unfortunate locales of Sabon-Gida and Damba.
