Tayo Uloma (not real name), a student of Federal University, Gusau (FUGUS), Zamfara State, had no reason to be awake at 3 am on September 22, 2023.

However, her sleep was interrupted in the wee hours of the stated date when a group of armed men invaded her hostel in the Sabon Gida area of Gusau.

Uloma told FIJ that the next few hours plunged her into a terrifying ordeal with the gunmen abducting her and several other students from the hostel.

During the abduction, the student would also witness a shootout between her captors and a group of soldiers who had come to rescue her and five other students that day.

READ MORE: JUST IN: Terrorists Attack Zamfara Varsity, Abduct Students

ZAMFARA’S FEDERAL UNIVERSITY PLAGUED BY KIDNAPPINGS: A CRISIS IGNORED?

The abduction of dozens of students from FUGUS later made the headlines that same Friday.

Unfortunately, the attack marked yet another abduction incident involving students of the institution in 2023.

In April, two kidnapped female FUGUS students spent 12 days in captivity. Just like the Friday attack, the students were kidnapped on April 2 after armed men broke into their apartment at Sabon Gida community.

In May, armed men suspected to be kidnappers again invaded a students’ hostel in the same Sabon Gari area and kidnapped another set of students. This time, however, the police was able to rescue five students during the attack.

A similar occurrence played out in June, when another set of students were whisked away from their hostel. The abduction, which happened on June 16, got the students of the university enraged and they staged a protest within the institution’s premises the following day. Interestingly, the protest was not just about that particular abduction but about the incessant kidnap of students by gunmen.

During Friday’s attack, soldiers were able to rescue Uloma and five other lucky students. On Monday, men of the Joint Task Force of Operation Hadarin Daji also rescued another set of seven students. This means 13 students have been rescued so far. Regrettably, this also means close to a dozen students are still in captivity.

‘THEY BROKE INTO MY HOSTEL AROUND 3 AM‘

“We were sleeping around past 3 am. That was when they (the attackers) came to my hostel, but they started operating since around 11 pm in the night of the previous day,” Uloma told FIJ while recounting her abduction experience.

The student said she was already awake the period the gunmen were struggling to open the hostel gate. When the men eventually gained entry into the hostel they kidnapped her and then visited other rooms to kidnap other occupants as well.

Uloma, who does not reside on campus, said her hostel (though privately owned) is very close to the university.

“When they came, I was wearing just a wrapper. I had to beg them to allow me put on some clothes. They collected my phone and not long after, they started breaking down the other doors and abducting other students,” she said.

READ ALSO: Over 20 Zamfara Students Still Missing 48 Hours After Abduction

UNMASKED YOUNG MEN ARMED WITH GUNS

According to Uloma, the gunmen who attacked her hostel numbered close to 50. She also said they were mostly young with average ages that could not have been more than 21.

“Their faces were wide opened. They all held guns, AK-47. They shared themselves into groups. And one person each was knocking down each door in the facility,” said Uloma.

“The gunmen worked in pairs; one person kicked down the doors while a second person kept watch from outside.”

Uloma said about 10 students were kidnapped from her hostel. She could not, however, ascertain the number of students taken from other apartments. After the gunmen were done with the abduction, they led the kidnapped students led out of Sabon Gida Village.

She said that both the abducted students and their kidnappers had to walk a long distance in bush paths until they arrived at a place called Tsafe.

At Tsafe, another set of bandits were already stationed in the nearby bushes with motorcycles and they started to convey abducted female students to an unknown destination.

“They were in a haste because a military helicopter was up in the sky hovering. Then, they asked us to lie down and we did. After the helicopter had gone, they put me on and one other female student on one of their bikes.”

A Google Maps search conducted by FIJ to determine the distance between the location of FUGUS at Sabon Gida Village and Tsafe revealed a distance of 28.4 kilometres. Travelling the same distance in a vehicle would take 29 minutes.

A SHOOTOUT BETWEEN BANDITS AND SOLDIERS

Uloma informed FIJ that as the bandits sped out of Tsafe town on their motorcycles, they fell into an ambush laid by a group of soldiers.

A gun battle then ensued between both parties.

“All the bandits had AK-47s too. All of them. As the soldiers shot at the kidnapper whose bike we sat on, we fell down. The other girl fell to the other side of the road.

“When the bandit was falling down with his bike, he and his bike were on top of my leg.”

Uloma told FIJ that the soldiers were able to kill about four of the bandits during the gun battle.

“When the other bandits who were at a distance saw what was happening because they were really plenty, they threw away the students they were carrying and ran to meet the rest. They started exchanging bullets with the soldiers too,” said Uloma.

“The soldiers were eventually able to rescue six of us after confronting the bandits.”

Uloma said they were rescued around 10 am on Friday by the soldiers and taken to their command in Tsafe.

READ ALSO: Teenager Recounts Her Abduction in Oghara Town Where Violent Gunmen Are Killing ‘for Survival’

NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE

For Uloma, the school management as well as the government do not seem to care about the spate of kidnapping of students in the school.

She said the last abduction of students from the university had triggered a protest.

Bandits had kidnapped some students at Sabon Gida and Damba areas, and the protesting students refused to write their examinations unless the students were released.

Uloma told FIJ that the school responded by expelling many of the students, especially those whose faces could be identified in the videos and pictures being circulated during the period.

“When the VC came to address us then, he said Damba was far and that the school management did not recommend staying there to any student. He also said students ought to know what they are signing up for while applying to study in the school,” said Uloma.

“He said they should come back to Sabon-Gida to live there. But this is the same area where I and other students were abducted from. Even the female hostel owned by the school is not safe. Some female students were kidnapped in the school hostel!”

A Premium Times report once corroborated Uloma’s words. The report stated that the school expelled the students because of an “attempted demonstration to disrupt students from writing the second semester examinations 2021/2022 of Monday 19 June 2023.”

FIJ made phone calls to one of the expelled students on Monday afternoon, but they were not answered.

ALL TALKS AND NO ACTION

In a voice heavy with frustration and disappointment, Uloma said, “It’s as good as saying the school does not really care.

“The school has security officers, but anytime the bandits come to attack, they will tie the security men and do what they want to do. It’s just normal people wearing uniform and calling themselves security.”

Uloma further told FIJ that during periods like this, the government would come out to assure residents of its plans to address their security concerns.

“They always end up doing nothing in the end,” Uloma said.

“It’s all talk and talk. The governor still told us after we were rescued that it will not happen again.”

READ ALSO: Teenage Boy ‘Saves’ Abuja Residents From Nighttime Kidnappers

THE FEAR

Following the abduction experience, Uloma is scared of returning to school.

She recalled her recurring thoughts as the bandits walked her and others out of the safety of her hostel: “I told myself that if we were eventually rescued, I was done with schooling here. I’m done with anything called school here.

“This is not the first time, and they are not doing anything about it. Whenever it happens, they will come and talk and talk as if they will do something.

“It is only the first day that you will see the security around. But after that day, no security. You are just on your own.”

While Uloma reiterated her resolve to withdraw from FUGUS, she told FIJ that she could transfer to another school if it was possible.

At press time, 13 students have been successfully rescued, but the fate of the remaining students remains uncertain as they are still in the custody of their abductors.

Abimbola Abatta is a reporter with FIJ writing reports in partnership with Report for the World which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.