Armed terrorists have launched a deadly attack on Iluke Bunu in the Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, killing a school vice principal and two other residents. The bandits also abducted three students who were actively preparing to write the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) papers.
The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, throwing the entire community into mourning and heightening public anxiety over school safety. Local sources identified the deceased educational official as Mr. Gani Anifowose, the Vice Principal of Government Secondary School, Iluke, who died alongside two other villagers during the violent raid.
The Kogi State Police Command confirmed that a combined team of security operatives successfully repelled the invaders after a fierce gun battle. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Adusat Salihu, issued an official statement confirming that security forces neutralized one of the bandits during the encounter.
Northern Elders Forum demands security emergency
“The command received distress information that a large number of heavily armed bandits operating on about 40 motorcycles, had invaded Government Secondary School, Iluke Bunu,” Salihu stated to journalists.
In a related development, the Edo State Government ordered the immediate closure of three secondary schools in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area following credible intelligence reports of mass kidnapping plots. Meanwhile, widespread rumors of a separate Boko Haram invasion triggered severe pandemonium in Minna, Niger State, forcing panicked parents to withdraw their children from classrooms.
Consequently, prominent regional socio-political groups, including the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently declare a national security emergency. The groups insisted that the federal government must establish special courts to ensure the speedy trial of terrorism and kidnapping cases.
This security crisis update relies on official police communiques and state declarations monitored by Punch Newspapers and Vanguard News.
