Three Students Shot In Uniben

By: Okosun Dennis

Three students of the University of Benin were on Friday evening shot 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 scampered for safety as gun shots rent the air.

It was learnt that among the students shot, one died on the spot after been shot thrice at close range; the second student was said to have escaped with bullet wounds while the fate of the third students 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 in the campus.

Attempt to reach the University spokesperson, Dr Benedicta Ehanire failed and 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 that 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 in 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 gun shot. 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 to different directions and didn’t know what transpired thereafter.”

On her part, a Medical Student who spoke anonymously too 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 was trying to decipher what was the problem when we heard a gun shot few metres away. The crowd scattered to 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 walked to my hostel few kilometres away. Right now, I am exhausted. I have my GST exams by 9am tomorrow morning. There were neither vehicles nor tricycles to convey students,” she added.

Decrying the security in the campus as sloppy, the students expressed their disappointments that such incident of shooting and killing could happen in such a massive campus like Uniben and there were no immediate police presence or the 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, 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.