OWERRI—Two graduating students of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of the state, were reportedly burnt to death, Wednesday.
A source gathered that the students, whose names could not be ascertained at press time, had completed their Higher National Diploma, HND, examination and were looking forward to going for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, before tragedy struck.
Another version linked their death to a robbery attack. One student told Vanguard: “There was a robbery attack in the hostel of the students. Hoodlums stormed the hostel Wednesday night and robbed the inmates.” The student recounted that after robbing the inmates of their valuables at gunpoint, the two unfortunate students were tied up in their room and set ablaze.
“We were told that the two students were equally robbed, tied in their room and set ablaze by the rampaging armed men, before fleeing the scene,” the student said. Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Darlington Oparaocha, has confirmed the incident to newsmen.
He said: “It is true that two of our students have been reported dead. The incident occurred in a hostel close to the school.” According to the PRO, the deceased students, who just concluded their HND programme, may have met their death after a yet-to-be identified incident.
The PRO said the school management was yet to ascertain if the students died because of cult-related activities or armed robbery. “We cannot say definitively if they died of cult-related activities or sheer armed robbery. Their bodies have been deposited in a nearby morgue,” the PRO said.