The Police Command in Ebonyi had confirmed that Chinedu Linus, a student of Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki, was killed by gunmen on Friday.
The Spokesperson of the command, ASP Loveth Odah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the gunmen robbed Linus and subsequently killed him.
Odah said no arrest had been made, but that several operational units of the command were currently on manhunt of the hoodlums.
“I urge students not to confront robbers or any person bearing arms whenever they are attacked because such a person was no longer normal.
“It is only a living person that makes use of valuables as no amount of valuables in ones’ possession can equate to life,” she said.
The spokesperson also appealed to the relevant agencies to construct access roads to students’ hostels for easy rescue operation in case of attacks.
“Our officers responded swiftly to the distress call by the students, but there was no road leading to the hostel where the incident occurred.
“Our officers had to park their patrol vehicle on the main road and walk to the hostel where the corpse of the deceased was and took it to the mortuary of Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki,” she said.
A source, who spoke to NAN on the condition of anonymity, noted that the robbers, who numbered about four, shot the deceased as he confronted them.
“They invaded the deceased’s hostel, about 1:30 a.m. during a downpour after gaining entry with a ladder which they used to climb the building’s fence.
“We heard loud knocks on our gate and Chinedu who is the students’ leader at the hostel, brandished a rod to ascertain the person knocking at the gate.
“The robbers grabbed him and started asking where he kept the money as we suddenly heard gun shots.
“They entered my room, robbed me of N15,000 and two cell phones and robbed the entire occupants of the hostel; they took the money we contributed for electricity bills.
“We later learnt that they attacked our neigbouring building, but it seems Linus was the only occupant who unfortunately confronted them,” he said.
The Special Adviser to Gov. David Umahi on Student Affairs, Gideon Onwe, expressed sadness on the incident and said that the state government had directed immediate arrest of the culprits.
“The government has urged security agents to include the Lucky City Hostel, the affected hotel as one of security flashpoints which they should patrol on a 24-hour basis,” he said.