Armed gunmen have abducted seven persons, including six engineering students of Nasarawa State University, from an off-campus students’ lodge in Gudi, Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night at about 9pm when the attackers reportedly stormed a students’ lodge located at Anguwar Ninzo on the outskirts of Gudi and whisked away the victims to an unknown destination.
Although Nasarawa State University is located in Keffi, its Faculty of Engineering campus is situated in Gudi, Akwanga Local Government Area, the hometown of governor Abdullahi Sule.
Confirming the incident in a statement on Thursday, Ramhan Nansel, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force in the state said the command received a distress call shortly after the attack and immediately mobilised security operatives to the area.
“So far, six victims have been identified, all of whom are students of the Faculty of Engineering, Gudi Campus of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, alongside one other victim who was reportedly visiting one of the students at the time of the incident,” the statement read.
The police said Shetima Mohammed, the Commissioner of Police visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment and assured students, residents and the university community that efforts were ongoing to rescue the abducted victims safely.
“To strengthen ongoing operations, the Commissioner of Police has redeployed the Area Commander, Akwanga, to coordinate field operations in the area pending the rescue of the victims,” the statement added.
The command further disclosed that a joint security team comprising the police, DSS, military, NSCDC, vigilante groups and other tactical units had been deployed to track the abductors and rescue the victims, while urging members of the public to remain calm and provide useful information to security agencies.
