Suspected Fulani herdsmen kill one student, injure three others in Imo
[From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia]
Hoodlums, Saturday evening, shot and killed a student and injured three others, prompting Abia Government to direct the Commissioner of Police in the state, Janet Agbede to liaise with her Imo counterpart to swiftly hunt down the criminals.
The victims were students of Marist Comprehensive Academy (MCA), Uturu, a Catholic-owned secondary school, located in Uturu, Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State.
The students were returning from a religious event held at Orlu, Imo State, when they ran into the hoodlums suspected to be Fulani herdsmen who were operating along Ihube road in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State at about 5.30pm.
The deceased student, Edeh Donald, alongside his colleagues, were about 11 kilometres to their school when they ran into the hoodlums who were said to have opened fire on them.
Confirming the sad incident, Principal of MCA, Rev. Brother Joachim Ezetulugo, said on Sunday that the school management decided to send the band boys and some members of staff to represent the school during the Final Religious Profession of some Marist Brothers, including two of the Marist brothers who work in the school.
“Edeh Donald was shot in the course of the attack and he died shortly after,” Ezetulugo said adding that trouble started when the school’s delegation was about 11 kilometres away from the school compound, when the suspected Fulani herdsmen emerged from the forest and opened fire on them, leading to the death of Donald. He said the other three students who were hospitalized were in stable condition.
A terse statement issued by the school and signed by the management, read: “Some students from Marist Comprehensive Academy, Uturu, Abia State were attacked by armed bandits around Ihube road in Okigwe LGA on their way from a Final Religious Profession of some Marist Brothers.
“In the course of the robbery attack, one student in the person of Edeh Donald was shot and he later died. Three other students were injured. They are receiving treatment and they are responding to the treatment. We pray God to guide and protect Nigerian citizens.”
Reacting to the incident, Aboa State Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, disclosed that the Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, “has directed the state Commissioner of Police, Mrs Janet Agbede, to, as a matter of urgency, liaise with her counterpart in Imo State to swiftly arrest the hoodlums and bring them to justice.”
According to the Commissioner, Abia State Government has also confirmed from the management of MCA that the three students who sustained injuries from the attack have been treated and discharged while the parents of Master Ede Donald have been contacted.
Okiyi frowned at reports that 10 students of Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) were kidnapped during the incident.
“While we commiserate with parents of the deceased, students, staff and management of Marist Comprehensive Academy, Uturu, over this unfortunate incident in our neighboring state, we condemn in totality the attempt by agents of opposition political actors in our state whose stock in trade is spreading fake news to diminish the state.
“The circulating report sponsored by these unconscionable individuals that ten students of Abia State University, Uturu, were abducted yesterday is not only untrue but also wicked and a creation of the evil minds of those who are ready to do anything in pursuit of their selfish objectives against the overall interests of the State.
“The management of Abia State University, including the Vice Chancellor, Prof Maxwell Ogbulu, has confirmed that no student of the institution was abducted yesterday as against fake reports obviously sponsored by these elements,” the Commissioner said in a statement he issued in Umuahia, Sunday.
