Fear has gripped students of the Federal University in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, following the killings of two undergraduates with their remains dumped within the university community.
It was gathered that one of the victims was a 100-level undergraduate identified as Edwin Tochi Eze popularly known as Tochiba.
Tochiba, a student of Mathematics Education, who recently won the Mr. Education Contest for Male category was reportedly found dead on Tuesday with multiple machete cuts.
The other victim, who was identified as Chimzi Ejekwu Lloyd, popularly known as Chimzi was reportedly found dead in a bush with a gunshot wound to his chest.
A close friend to the deceased Tochiba, Sammy Majestic, said his friend was found dead shortly after he was declared missing.
Sammy said: “We were together during our normal jokes and play, but he ran out of the house and did not come back. We were very worried and contacted his friends and family. We even called his phone but it was switched off. The corpse was later discovered close to his residence on Tuesday”.
Some security sources expressed fears that the killings could be connected to a silent cult war going on in the area.
It was learnt that the case had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department of the State Police Command in Yenagoa, the State capital.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Seth Accra Jaja, that he was in Abuja on official duty.
Employees of the schools and students expressed concern over the insecurity in the school adding that the management had yet to set up anti-cult squad.
One of the students, who wrote on FUO Campus gist page on facebook, expressed fears over the rising cases of insecurity in the students’ community.
He said: “I am tired of typing Rest in Peace (RIP). Tired of hearing ‘it didn’t happen in Campus’ and tired of the fact that there are no hostels in FUO. I’m fed up with the fact that 95 per cent of students live off campus yet security system is not present and our management seems not to care.
“I am angered by the fact that only three properties in the entire Otuoke has top notch security provided by the military because they belong to You Know Who. To the rest of us, On Your Own, is our case.I feel pain, I feel sorrow and sadness, anger and anguish I feel”.
Another student, who spoke in confidence said: “The only buildings that are secured and the only fortress in Otuoke, home of former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, his wife’s hotel directly opposite Federal University, Otuoke and another unoccupied building somewhere along Olumba road.
“At each of these structures is a fortified military checkpoint. These security apparatus only safeguard these aforementioned places and even if there’s trouble close by, they don’t give a damn.
“This month alone, we’ve witnessed series of death of students of FUO, no security, not even a police station in the entire community hosting a Federal institution. None is even nearby.
“From incessant kidnappings of staff and students to the maiming and killing of students in successions, no arrest has been made. I will tell you more later. It is a sad tale.
“There is pandemonium in Otuoke right now because of the fracas between students and the CSO of former president GEJ during a randy movement by students over the corpse of another student that got missing on Monday and was found dead today”.
“As usual, after live ammunition was fired by the military, the story was twisted that students, who were harmless and armless and in company of the SUG president, opened fire at the military personnel”.
It, was however, gathered that Jaja recently convened a meeting to deliberate on the insecurity in the school.
The meeting, presided over by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bio Nyananyo, promised that all issues affected security would be resolved in the school.
