Gunmen have abducted a 100-level female student of Plateau State University (PLASU), Bokkos, and shot another person during an attack on an off-campus student residential area in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The attack occurred at about 8:40pm on Saturday, raising fresh concerns over the safety of students living outside the university premises.
A student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident to journalists in Jos on Sunday, saying the abducted student was seized while she was out with another female student.
He said the victim had not been seen since the attack and appealed to security agencies to intensify efforts to secure her safe release.
A university staff member, who also requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed that the management was aware of the incident.
He described it as the second shooting incident recorded in an off-campus student residential area within four weeks.
The staff member expressed concern over the security of students living outside the university, noting that although the latest attack did not occur within the campus, the institution remained worried about threats to its students.
He explained that the university administration, under Vice-Chancellor Prof. Shadrack Best, had been making efforts to provide secure on-campus accommodation for students.
However, he said financial constraints had limited the institution's hostel capacity to about 1,000 students, despite its population of nearly 20,000.
The university also acknowledged the contributions of its Visitor and Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund towards the provision of critical infrastructure.
It said it would continue to engage relevant authorities to expand accommodation facilities and strengthen security for students.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Plateau State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Alfred Alabo, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
