Terrorists kill three, disrupt WAEC exam in Kogi school attack

Armed kidnappers disguised in military uniforms disrupted a secondary school examination in north-central Nigeria on Wednesday, triggering a gun battle with security forces that left three civilians and one assailant dead.

Approximately 40 motorcycles carrying a large number of heavily armed men invaded the Government Secondary School in Iluke Bunu, located in the Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, around 10:00 a.m.

The attackers disrupted students sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and began marching them toward a nearby forest before security forces intervened.

“Reports available to the government indicated that the bandits disrupted an ongoing WAEC examination,” Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, said in a statement. He added that the attackers “disguised themselves in military uniforms to gain access to the community” and had already begun moving students into the bush before being engaged.

While a combined force of military personnel, police tactical teams, and local vigilantes successfully averted a mass abduction, three victims were killed by the attackers during the raid.

The Kogi State Police Command identified the deceased as Ganiyu Anifowose, the vice principal of the school; Sunday Jacob Alhassan, 70; and Sunday Ayele, a six-year-old boy.

“Upon receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer, Kabba ‘A’ Division, immediately activated a coordinated security response,” said Saliu Afusat, spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command. “Regrettably, during the attack, three persons lost their lives.”

One of the bandits was killed during the ensuing exchange of gunfire, while several security operatives sustained gunshot wounds and are currently undergoing medical treatment. The police stated that all remaining students were rescued unharmed and that preliminary findings show “no conclusive evidence of a successful mass abduction.”

The incident marks the latest in a series of violent raids targeting educational institutions across Nigeria, following the mid-May abductions of dozens of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo and Borno states.

State authorities indicated they are intensifying bush-combing operations in the surrounding terrain to track the fleeing suspects. “Let it be clearly stated that Kogi State will not submit to terror,” Fanwo said. “Criminal elements seeking to undermine the peace and security of our State will continue to meet a determined, coordinated, and uncompromising response.”