Tears flowed freely late Thursday following the gruesome assassination of a female student at St. Paul’s College, Eke, in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area.
According to reliable sources, the student was shot dead by kidnappers presumed to be Fulani herdsmen.
According to a local who contacted Newsmen late Thursday night, other pupils who were also injured by gunshots are fighting for their lives at an unnamed hospital.
The Daily Post also received a gruesome video displaying the lifeless body of the victim, as well as some of the survivors of the attack.
A voice in the video narrated thus: “Fulani herdsmen attacked our students; they were going home after school; one of them was shot dead; four students were shot; one died instantly; they have done enough.
“See the corpse of the little student they have murdered; this one is unconscious. (pointing at another victim) We are praying that God will sustain her; she sustained four bullet wounds.
“This was done by the Fulanis operating at Eke-Egede Road; these are the ones that survived; the government should come to our rescue. Our place is now a death zone.”
Newsmen also reached out to the principal of the Catholic Church-owned school, Rev. Fr. Frank and he confirmed the attack.
“It is true; we dismissed by 3:30 pm yesterday, as the students were going home, the bus they were in was attacked by gunmen; some of them received bullet wounds, of which one later died in the hospital;
“That was between 4:30 and 5 p.m.; the gunmen just opened fire on them.”
“We feel so saddened to lose such a promising young girl in this circumstance.”
Meanwhile, other community sources said the area had been a den of kidnappers for years, with security agencies unable to stop the activities of the ravaging herdsmen.
A community leader, who spoke under anonymity, said many victims of kidnapping in the Udi and Ezeagu areas are kept in the same location until a ransom is paid.
He said those who could not meet the ransom demand were usually killed after a few days.
He said the forest spanning about 15 kilometers, called ‘Ofia-akwu’, had remained a death zone, with several lives lost in the past in the hands of the Fulani herdsmen who were into kidnapping.
“The security agencies know that they have been occupying that location for several years now, committing all manner of crimes.
“We don’t know why it is difficult to flush them out of that location.
“Many lives have been lost to their murderous activities on that Eke-Egede Road,” he lamented.
Similarly, a famous traditional ruler was also reportedly abducted by the same gang after the attack on the school bus.
A message made available to reporters said the monarch from Affa “was kidnapped along Eke-Egede-Affa Road after a security meeting with the chairman of Udi Local Government and men of our high-profile neighborhood watch.”
“We pray for his safe rescue and return in Jesus’ name. Oh, God, our efforts shall not be in vain,” said Offorkansi Hyginus, PRO, Affa security committee.
Meanwhile, there were attempts to obtain a reaction from the Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, but he requested that a text message be sent to him.
He had yet to respond to the message as of the time of filing this report.
Text except headline courtesy of Dailypost
