One Killed, Others Injured As Gunmen Attack Enugu Secondary School

Residents, parents, teachers and students were thrown into fear on Thursday evening, when suspected Fulani herdsmen shot a female student of St Paul’s College, Eke, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Naija News learnt that the assailants attacked a group of students who were returning home from school and shot sporadically, killing one in the process.

Daily Post quoted a resident as saying that other students equally hit by bullets are battling for survival in an undisclosed hospital. The news platform claimed to have also received a gory video clip showing the lifeless body of the victim, as well as some of the survivors of the attack.

“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,” a voice in the video clip narrated.

When contacted, the Principal of the Catholic Church-owned school, Rev. Fr. Frank, reportedly confirmed the attack, saying: “It is true; we dismissed by 3:30 pm yesterday, as the students were going home, gunmen attacked the bus they were in; some of them received bullet wounds, of which one later died in the hospital.

“That was between 4:30-5 pm; the gunmen just opened fire on them.

“We feel so saddened to lose such a promising young girl in this circumstance.”

In the meantime, journalists were informed by various sources within the community that kidnappers had long plagued the region. Despite the efforts of security agencies, they were unable to put an end to the activities of these destructive herdsmen.

A community leader who pledged to remain anonymous revealed that numerous kidnap victims from the Udi and Ezeagu areas were held captive in the exact location until a ransom was paid. Unfortunately, those unable to meet the ransom demands would often meet a tragic fate within a few days.

The leader further explained that a forest known as ‘Ofia-akwu’, spanning approximately 15 kilometres, had become a dangerous zone where countless lives had been lost in the hands of the Fulani herdsmen involved in 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 from that location.

“Many lives have been lost to their murderous activities on that Eke-Egede Road,” he lamented.

However, the state police command has yet to make an official statement regarding the event.

According to Daily Post, the Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, requested that a text message be sent to him but was yet to respond to the message as of the time of filing this report.