…community, police disagree on casualty figures

Tension has heightened at the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra state, following the killings and kidnapping of many students by gunmen Thursday night.

While the community leaders have put the number of casualties at ten, Police authorities in the state said only two were killed, while four others were injured.

The gunmen carried out the attack on Thursday night near the tipper garage and at the Total filling station beside the institution.

As a result, the students of the institution have raised the alarm that their lives are in danger, while calling on the federal government to rescue them.

As further investigations are still ongoing, The Nation gathered that four students of the institution are still missing as there are fears that they might have been abducted by the hoodlums.

Eyewitnesses close to the attack last night claimed that the gunmen were on a motorcycle, numbering six and in a black Lexus 350 SUV without licence plates.

They said, immediately after they arrived at the two places, they started shooting indiscriminately on unsuspecting students and residents.

Though the figure of casualties are still not clear, while confirming the incident, the state’s Police command spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, said two persons lost their lives while four others were wounded.

He said the state police command deployed a heavy joint security team led by the Area Commander of Aguata to the scene of the incident.

He said the operation, including the Army, Navy, Civil Defence, and local vigilantes, had since taken control of the area and launched a manhunt for the attackers.

“Two victims, including a female, are currently receiving treatment in the hospital. Sadly, two deaths have been recorded, and two others were allegedly abducted,” Ikenga said.

“We are acting on credible intelligence and eyewitness accounts to track down the hoodlums,” the command said.

However, the school’s management has refused to open up on the attack of the students, but one of the students told The Nation that the attackers were cult members in the institution.

The source said,” cult activities have resumed in our institution and the management has refused to talk about it until we all die in this place.

“The most annoying thing is that the authorities know the bad eggs, but they don’t want to do anything. They are only interested in admitting many students because of money and the students are not happy,” the source said.

One of the community leaders who spoke with The Nation in confidence, said the problem in the institution is the number of students being admitted each year by the school management through the backdoor.

“The way they offer admission to students in Oko Federal Polytechnic is not the way other institutions do. The number of admissions through that method is double than the approved number by the government.

“Federal Polytechnic Oko in Orumba South local government area of Anambra state has become a business centre where anything goes. President Bola Tinubu should intervene in that school, otherwise, a lot of things will go wrong,” the source said. (The Nation)