Umunze College under siege as robbers torment staff, students

Staff and students of Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Anambra State, have been living in fear following incessant robbery attacks and killings in the host community. Few weeks ago, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the College, Mr Okoli Onyekachukwu, was shot at the entrance of the college by hoodlums, who robbed him of N330,000 and disappeared like ghost.
The latest incident happened barely few months after the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the College, Mr Sunday Ike, was robbed of his car and shot by gunmen in his family house at Umunze. Sadly, he died few days later of gunshot injuries.
Onyekachukwu told www.odogwublog.com how the dare-devil robbers accosted him on a motorcycle at the college gate and pulled a gun at him. One of the hoodlums shot him at close range, as they dispossessed him of cash and other personal belongings. He counted himself lucky when the bullet missed his heart but tore his arm to shreds. He described the community as crime-prone, stressing that workers in the college had become prime targets of faceless hoodlums who parade the area with sophisticated arms.
His words: “Maybe the criminals think we have money. I don’t know why they wanted to kill me.  I am still reflecting why I should be attacked in this manner. They also collected the N330,000 I cashed from bank, my phones and still shot me.”
The rise in crime wave in the community has forced the residents to be sleeping with their eyes open.  Many visitors that fell into the hands of the hoodlums tell tales of woes, after losing their valuables.
According to Nwafor Chinedu, a lawyer and employee of the college, life has become unbearable for the average resident in the area. According to him, robbers have become the lords of the night that force the residents to keep wakeful nights in fear.
www.odogwublog.com gathered that the peace of the community had severally been shattered by gunshots, as the robbers went on the loose without serious confrontation by security agents.
Nwafor lamented the frequent attacks on members of the college community, adding that most of the workers in the federal government-owned college now live outside the community for fear of possible attacks.
“I don’t live in Umunze because of these attacks. Most of the workers don’t live here; we prefer paying high rents outside this place to save our lives,” he said.
Further investigation by www.odogwublog.com revealed another female staff of the college, who was attacked in her house while trying to switch on her generator. Although she later reported the case to the police, no arrest was made in connection with the incident.
Another victim, Mr. Emeka Umendu, a lecturer in Computer Education Department lost his Nissan Xtera jeep to the hoodlums, who invaded his house and carted away prized items.
Another female staff of the college, who pleaded not to be named for fear of reprisal, disclosed how she received threat messages from faceless hoodlums, who ordered her to keep N2m for them or risk losing her life and that of her daughter.
Some of the staff and students of the college, who spoke with Campus Sun, appealed to Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State to save them from the grips of criminals operating in Umunze community. According to these residents, security needed to be beefed up in the area to save them from the reign of terror unleashed on them by armed robbers.
Reacting to the report of insecurity in the host community, the Provost of the college, Prof. Josephat Okechukwu Ogbuagu, commended the security achievements of the present administration of Governor Obiano in making Anambra State a safe haven. However, he regretted the attacks on the college community and called on the state government to urgently look into the situation and proffer lasting solutions.
Ogbuagu further appealed to Obiano to rejig and reinforce the security network in in Umunze town, particularly by instituting round-the-clock police patrol within the college environment where workers and thousands of students have become easy prey to prowling hoodlums.