Three students of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Agbani, were shot and injured Friday night when suspected armed bandits invaded their hostel.

The injured students are currently undergoing surgery at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, where they were taken to in the early hours of yesterday.

The father of one of the students said his son who was affected in the attack and was undergoing surgery at the hospital, revealed that the unnamed student was shot in the stomach. He added that some pellets of the bullet were lodged in his abdomen and that doctors were battling to extract the pellets. Efforts were being made to contact the parents of the two other victims, who were similarly undergoing surgery at the teaching hospital.

The Unique Hostel where the incident occurred and other hostels within the Agbani Permanent site of the university, according to sources, have been placed under security watch as it was suspected that the gun­men could be members of a secret cult.

When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed the armed attack and said preliminary investigations revealed that the gunmen could have been student-robbers. Amaraizu assured that the police would do everything possible to get to the root of the matter.

•Extracted from a Sunday Sun report. Photo shows UNTH Enugu, where the students are receiving treatment.