By Okosun Dennis
Three students of the University of Benin were shot on Friday evening by unknown assailants at the Campus in Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo state.
The unidentified students were shot at the Physical Science, Anatomy and Computer Science departments.
The assailants were said to have used a vehicle, whose description couldn’t be ascertained by students who were caught up in the melee and scampered for safety as gunshots rent the air.
It was learnt that among the students shot, one died on the spot after being shot thrice at close range; the second student was said to have escaped with bullet wounds while the fate of the third student couldn’t be ascertained.
It was gathered that the shooting might have been orchestrated by rival cult groups, which has become a recurrent decimal that is fast assuming a high level of notoriety on the campus.
Attempts to reach the University spokesperson, Dr. Benedicta Ehanire failed and a message sent to her WhatsApp number has not been responded to even as the University authority is yet to make a categorical statement about the development.
However, two 100-level students who spoke with our correspondent last night said that two of the students shot were 500-level Engineering students while the third student’s department was unknown.
Expressing their angst, one of the students of the English Language department who didn’t want her name published bemused the poor and flatness of the security on the campus as the assailants escaped after the shooting.
“I was at the Physical Science department when the first student was shot. The assailants drove in a car and we heard a gunshot. They didn’t come out of their car but shot the student at close range. While he fell down, they zoomed off.
“In the midst of the confusion that ensued, we all ran in different directions and didn’t know what transpired thereafter.”
On her part, a Medical Student who spoke anonymously narrated her experience.
“I just finished at the library and was walking to my hostel off campus only to discover that the back gate that leads to Ekosodin was locked.
“We all converged there and were trying to decipher what was the problem when we heard a gunshot few metres away. The crowd scattered in different directions. I ran as fast as I could. It was hellish. I have never seen that kind of thing in my life. The experience was horrendous, devastating, and unpalatable,” she explained.
“We were denied access to the back of the campus as the only gate opened was the main gate. I had to trek a long distance of several kilometres to the campus main gate along the Lagos-Benin expressway before trekking to Ekosodin junction and walking to my hostel a few kilometers away. Right now, I am exhausted. I have my GST exams by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. There were neither vehicles nor tricycles to convey students,” she added.
Decrying the security on the campus as sloppy, the students expressed their disappointment that such an incident of shooting and killing could happen on such a massive campus like Uniben and there were no immediate police presence or local security deployed to counter the assailants or lock all the gate that could have led to their arrest,” they quarried.
At the moment, the Edo state police Command is yet to confirm the casualties and the rival cults responsible for the dastardly act.
Meanwhile, the first-semester examination is continuing tomorrow, Saturday, 28th October 2023.
Whether the University authority will postpone the courses slated for tomorrow or not is yet to be known.
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