Port Harcourt – Five students of Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwu, were abducted on Tuesday by gunmen believed to be cultists at their off-campus residence in Emuoha Local Government Area.
The incident follows recent protests by students living outside the institution’s Emuoha satellite campus, who had called on the university management to relocate them to the main Port Harcourt campus over repeated attacks and harassment.
Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, had assured at a pre-convocation briefing on Monday that the Emuoha campus would remain open.
He added that measures, including a town hall meeting with local chiefs, community stakeholders, and security agencies, were being taken to ensure student safety.
Confirming the abduction, Rivers State Police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the gun-wielding cultists attacked the residence, shooting sporadically before whisking the students to an unknown location.
“We have deployed tactical police units, and the Commissioner of Police is on the ground to ensure the students are rescued,” she stated.
A student who narrowly escaped the raid recounted that the assailants shot and killed a security dog before chasing some students. “When I first heard the gunshots, I thought it was fireworks. Then I realised it was real. I ran for my life as one of them fired at me repeatedly,” she said.
