Bandits strike again at FUTO, kill visiting parent, his two children escape death

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have, for the umpteenth time, attacked the student community of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), in Imo State, killing a visiting middle-aged parent in an apparent kidnap attempt.

The incident which happened near the NDDC hostel on campus, has left the university community in utter panic, coming barely one month after a similar death led to the closure of the school.

Daily Champion reports that FUTO reopened for studies after it was shut down in response to suspected plan by students to revolt against the management of the institution over rising wave of violent incidents and attacks that lead to multiple deaths and kidnappings within and around the school.

It was gathered that the slain man was in the school on Sunday evening to bring back his two children who were said to had gone home for the weekend. One of the man’s children is said to be in hird year while the younger one was in first year.

The names of the murdered man and his children are being protected at this time as investigations is said to be ongoing on the matter.

Incidents developed when the father of the two students was said to be accosted by unknown men demanding that he followed them into nearby bush. Scuffles reportedly ensued after the man resisted the order and the assailants tried to take him by force.

The commotion, according to insider accounts, drew attention of some students who were playing football at a nearby field. And with increasing attention drawing growing crowd around them, the assailants reportedly drew automatic weapons and sprayed bullets round the scene to scare away people and escape.

According to eyewitness accounts, the bandits said to numbering about eight made additional attempt at reaching their victim some 15 minutes later, but, after seeing he was fatally wounded, finally retreated into the forest.

After scampering off to evade bullets, the students quickly mobilized and returned minutes later only to find the visiting parent lying in pool of blood; and after inspection, he was confirmed to have been daggered in the abdomen and shot in the chest. The manner of attack led to strong suspicion that the assailants might be Fulani bandits suspected to have been terrorizing the school and its host communities since early this year.

Eyewitnesses said the students first ran into initial confusions on where to rush the dying man and later decided to take him the school’s clinic where the victim reportedly died shortly on arrival.

According to those who witnessed the incident, the attack victim was on ground for about an hour as students awaited response from the school security or an ambulance, but neither arrived before the students decided to handle the matter.

The attack on Sunday evening falls into pattern with previous security incidents in the school which normally occurred at weekends when officials of the institution have left the campus, leaving the students vulnerable in the face of ineffective internal security personnel who are described as additional threat to the students.

Just before the school was shut down for security reasons, internal security personnel said to be members of the Man O’ War voluntary group had beaten a first-year student to death during one of their bizarre torture sessions, against which the students had protested in vain.

The photo of the dead student’s corpse which circulated across the school’s WhatsApp platforms, had sparked outrage in the campus, forcing the authorities to quickly shut down the school and evicted students from hostels.

Just recently two female students disappeared from the campus and student groups are in search of information regarding the whereabouts of the young women.

Just before now, another female student said to be traveling to Port Harcourt was reported kidnapped. She is also to have resurfaced after the parents paid her ransom.

Just a month ago, a female student returning from home trip in the evening was among passengers of FUTO campus shuttle bus who were forcibly disembarked and marched into the bush as they approached the university gate. She was rapidly ransomed by her parents.

At the beginning of the semester, two other students also disappeared from the campus after they reportedly strolled out in the evening. Like others, they later reappeared after ransom was paid. Thereafter they left FUTO for good.

A few weeks ago, students in the off-campus hostels raised security alarms when youths of Eziobodo community rose against tens of bandits who stormed their community to abduct a prominent son of the village who had returned home that weekend.

 A baby was killed by a flying bullet while scores sustained different degrees of wound in the crossfire. After the failed kidnap attempt, the assailants were said to have fled into thick forest behind FUTO, from where they now regularly launch kidnap attacks on the students.

The school authorities have refrained from making any public statement on the worsening insecurity within and around the institution, apart from terse internal memos directing students and staff to remain calm and law abiding, threatening penal measures against anyone promoting unrest in the campus.

There has been no response from the Nigerian Police, Imo State Command, on the periodic attacks within and around FUTO. But the command had in earlier incident at Eziobodo community, confirmed the activities of gunmen during that attack, adding that tactical command was deployed to address the situation.

The police statement did not contain the identity of the assailants which were said to have operated on tens of motorcycles. It neither made mention of any arrest during and after the attack on the community even after admitting that the assailants escaped into a forest behind FUTO.