Igbinedion University on Fire..Sporadic Shooting and Vandalization ongoing

A group of violent youths suspected to be Niger-Delta ex-militants this morning, invaded the Igbinedion University, Okada, Benin City, destroying school’s properties and macheting every student in sight.

According to reports reaching us, the said militants invaded school about 5am and they are still there at the time of filing this report with Vanguard News.

An eye witness who pleaded anonymity told Vanguard that the violent youths were “destroying cars, macheting people, shooting sporadically and have injured several students while many are feared to have been kidnapped. They have also blocked the main gate of the school so no one can come in or go out

“There’s a lot of chaos in the school right now and the students are all scared as the militants have gained access into one of the girls hostel”, our source stated.

Our effort to know the reason for the invasion has not yielded any success. However, we will bring all the details later.

One person was feared dead, while 15 people were injured and over 50 vehicles burnt yesterday, during a clash between ex-militants, who were registered in the Igbinedion University Okada, Edo State and suspected cultists.

The burnt vehicles belonged to students and staff of the university.

The tension in the university started penultimate week, when four students in the Department of Medicine were abducted. It was learnt that they were later released after the families paid huge sums of money.

However, there was unconfirmed report of two headless bodies sighted at the scene of the incident, while the ex-militants held the entire institution hostage for several hours after they locked up the exit gates, making it impossible for the detachment of mobile policemen, that were deployed to the university by Edo State Police Commissioner, Mr Olayinka Balogun, to gain access to the scene of the clash.

It would be recalled that the university authorities had admitted 208 ex-militants, under the amnesty programme of the Federal Government, into different departments in the university.

It was learnt that the crisis started when some cultists in the university stormed the room of one of the ex-militants and attacked him with matchetes and axe, and destroyed property in his room.

Unknown to the cultists, the ex-militant was a “General” during the militancy days. He consequently put a call to his boys both in the school and outside. The ex-militants stormed the university with dangerous weapons and descended on the suspected cultists in the university.

Five persons were said to have been arrested.