Gunmen suspected to be cultists have abducted about five students of the Rivers State University (RSU) from their off-campus residence in Emuoha Local Government Area.
The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday, worsening safety concerns that students in the area have repeatedly raised.
Just last week, students living around the RSU Emuoha satellite campus protested frequent attacks and begged school authorities to move them to the main campus in Port Harcourt.
However, during a briefing on Monday, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, insisted that the campus would not be shut down or relocated, assuring that security measures were being strengthened through meetings with community leaders and security agencies.
But barely a day after his assurances, gunmen stormed an isolated area in Rumuchi/Rumuohia and whisked away five students after shooting sporadically. The state police spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, describing the attackers as cultists.
She stated that tactical police units had been deployed and that the Commissioner of Police had personally gone to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts.
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One female student who miraculously escaped narrated the terrifying ordeal. She said the attackers shot and killed the compound’s security dog before breaking in. Thinking the first gunshot was fireworks, she attempted to run but was chased and shot at multiple times.
“I don’t even know how many times they fired at me,” she recounted. “I just kept running. Some of our students, about four or so, are missing now.”
As at the time of this report, efforts by security operatives to rescue the abducted students are ongoing.
