A yet-to-identified student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) was shot dead by masked gunmen in a JLK Mercedes-Benz while driving out of the main gate of the campus at Ugbowo on Sunday night.
Eyewitnesses said the student was shot at close range by masked gunmen who later fled the scene.
The victim had reportedly finished his examination in the Political Science department about an hour earlier, before he met his tragic end.
Two other victims in the JLK Mercedes-Benz who survived the attack were said to have been rushed to the University of Benin Health Care Centre.
One student said, “They shot him at close range, and there was no way he could have survived the attack. Two others who were in the vehicle were also injured and rushed to the school’s health care centre.”
Operatives from the Ugbowo Divisional Police Headquarters were at the scene evacuating the remains of the victim.
The DPO of the Divisional Police Headquarters, SP Emmanuel, said it was still too sketchy, and they had yet to issue an official statement.
In a separate report, another student was allegedly chased with a machete at the Social Science Lecture Theatre on Saturday, but escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile, a reliable source told New Telegraph that the recent attacks on the university followed the resignation of the Chairman of the institution’s Cult Renunciation, Reconciliation, Reformation, Rehabilitation and Interfaith Committee, who reportedly accused the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bright Edoba Omoregie, of ignoring repeated security alerts prior to the killing of the student near the university’s main gate.
The resignation, which came hours after the tragic incident, has heightened tension within the university community and reignited concerns over cult-related violence and growing insecurity around the campus environment.
It was gathered that the committee chairman, in his resignation letter, alleged that several warnings and recommendations aimed at preventing violent attacks within and around the institution were not acted upon by the university management.
