About 24 students of the Federal University Gusau were abducted by suspected terrorists who attacked three female hostels Friday morning.
TIMES gathered that six of the victims have been rescued by soldiers of the 1 Brigade Nigerian Army, Gusau.
A source who gave his name as Abdulmalik said his sister who lives in the hostels narrowly escaped.
“My sister told us the bandits came to Sabon Gida around 3 a.m. and began shooting in the air. After they dispersed some of the local watchmen, they began house to house search for the students.
“In the house my sister stays, only two of them were not abducted. We’ve gathered that 24 of them are so far abducted but they could be more than that,” he said.
Mr Abdulmalik said the terrorists blocked the Gusau-Funtua highway during the operation. Other terrorists were also stationed a few metres from the university’s main gate.
The university spokesperson, Umar Usman, didn’t respond to calls and SMS sent to him on the attack.
The police spokesperson, Yazeed Abubakar, confirmed the abduction but said the actual number of the abducted students is unknown.
He said an operation has been launched to rescue the students.
Rescue
Meanwhile, soldiers have rescued six of the female students abducted.
The operation was led by the Brigade Commander, Sani Ahmed, a military source said.
He said some of the terrorists were killed while some motorcycles and weapons retrieved.
Sabon Gida, the university host community, has been facing security challenges with several students of the university abducted on different occasions
A PREMIUM TIMES exclusive earlier this month revealed how the university management dismissed some students for protesting against the insecurity around the university.
culled from Premium Times Nigeria
