LOKOJA — Tragedy struck the Iluke-Bunu community in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State on Wednesday morning when heavily armed bandits stormed Government Secondary School, killing three people, including the school’s Vice Principal, Mr. Gani Anifowose.

The audacity of the attack, which occurred at approximately 9:00 AM while students were actively writing the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), has thrown the entire local government area into a state of panic and mourning.

Eyewitnesses reported that the terrorists, some disguised in military camouflage, marched into the community and directly targeted the school premises. Pandemonium broke out as students, invigilators, and residents scrambled for safety amidst a hail of gunfire.

While the primary motive of the heavily armed invaders appeared to be a mass abduction of the WASSCE candidates, they met stiff resistance from local security networks. Tragically, before the attackers could be repelled, they shot and killed the Vice Principal, Mr. Anifowose, along with two other yet-to-be-identified members of the community.

A bloodbath and a catastrophic mass kidnapping were narrowly averted thanks to the swift, coordinated response of the Nigerian Army troops stationed at the Suku-Kiri Bunu axis, working in tandem with local vigilantes and hunters.

Upon receiving a distress call, the combined security forces rushed to the scene and engaged the bandits in a fierce, protracted gun battle. Outgunned and facing heavy fire, the terrorists were forced to retreat into the nearby thick forests, abandoning their plans to take any students hostage.

THENEWSCREDIT reports confirm that all students and examination officials were successfully rescued and accounted for without any injuries.

Reacting to the incident, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Hon. Kingsley Femi Fanwo, strongly condemned the attack, describing it as an assault on the future of the state. He praised the bravery of the military personnel and the local hunters who risked their lives to protect the children.

"Our security architecture proved resilient today, but we mourn the loss of dedicated citizens, including a school administrator," Fanwo stated. "The state government will not fold its arms. Security agencies are already combing the bushes, and we will ensure the perpetrators of this heinous crime are hunted down and brought to justice."

This deadly raid is the latest in a worrying surge of violent crimes along the border communities of Kogi and Kwara states. Only nine days prior, on June 1, suspected terrorists intercepted a commercial transit bus in the nearby Ayegunle Bunu community, killing two people and abducting 30 passengers.

Local community leaders and youth groups have intensified calls on the Federal Government to establish permanent military checkpoints and increase troop deployments to secure vulnerable rural schools across the state.