Two students of the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State were abducted by bandits late Saturday night in their off-campus hostel in Sabon Garin Damba area of Gusau. The bandits attacked the community around 9 pm, shooting sporadically to scare the residents. Security personnel responded by exchanging fire with the bandits, but they could not prevent the abduction of the two students, who were identified as male and female.
An eyewitness, who spoke to Channels TV on condition of anonymity, said the bandits came on motorcycles and targeted the hostel where the students were staying. He said the security personnel tried to repel the bandits, but they were outnumbered and outgunned.
Another resident, who also requested anonymity for security reasons, said a joint team of police and military forces was on the trail of the bandits, hoping to rescue the students and arrest the perpetrators.
Efforts to speak with the spokesperson for the state police command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, were unsuccessful as he did not answer phone calls.
The abduction of the two students is the latest in a series of attacks on educational institutions in Zamfara State and other parts of northern Nigeria by bandits, who demand ransom for the release of their captives. In February, over 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State, and later freed after negotiations. In March, 39 students were abducted from Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Kaduna State and are still in captivity. The federal and state governments have been under pressure to secure the lives and properties of citizens and end the menace of banditry in the region.
