At least seventeen students sustained various degrees of injury and about nine female students were rapped in the early hours of Friday when a gang of suspected armed robbers raided over thirty off-campus hostels of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the robbers who were estimated to be about twenty had stormed the Ifite road Awka where the hostels were located shooting sporadically and robbing from room to room and hostel to hostel at about 12 .30 pm Thursday night which lasted for about three hours unchallenged.
A student of the university who would not want her name mentioned told Journalists that the robbers were heavily armed with guns axes and matchets going from room to room rapping female students and robbing them of their phones, ipads and money.
“We were at the hostel when we had gunshots that lasted for about ten minutes and we ran for our lives because they have not gotten to our own hostel and we had hide at the back of some shops in the area”
“Then we had loud noise of female students shouting for help but nobody could summon the courage to stop them because they are well armed”
“Those that attempted to resist were beaten blue black and many people got injured but I cannot say the number of people affected.”
“One of the female students that was rapped is a virgin and they rapped her twice and we are holding her because she wants to commit suicide”.
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The student further narrated that; “The number of hostels in Ifite -Awka is about 300 and including upstairs and bungalows but from what we got after the incident more than seventeen students were injured and that number of those rapped may be nine or ten or even twelve”.
It was however gathered that a call was placed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo who ordered security operatives to battle the robbers but before they could arrive the operation was almost over.
Four days before the incident suspected robbers have been visiting restaurants and bars robbing students and bar owners at gunpoint between 7 pm and 9 pm which resulted in the restaurants closing early while some students fled their hostels for fear of attacks.
According to the State Police Public Relations Officer DSP Tochukwu Ikenga who confirmed the incident; said “Our men on getting wind of the information got to Ifite Awka and was able to battle the criminals”
But the police did not disclose how many people were arrested as according to him making it public would interrupt investigations.
