By Aliyu Ubandoma
A large convoy of heavily armed terrorists stormed the Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State recently, leaving behind a devastating trail of rape, assault, and bloodshed, residents said.
Over the past two weeks, students were allegedly subjected to unrelenting terror—ranging from kidnapping and killings to widespread sexual violence.
The worst came on July 26, 2025, when the bandits launched a full-scale assault.
Residents said that the attackers moved in a coordinated convoy of vehicles invading student-populated areas surrounding the university.
The areas are Akunza, Gandu, and Burkan Kwato, slum-like satellite villages, where thousands of students reside due to the institution’s inadequate hostel infrastructure.
It was in the off-campus communities that the bandits unleashed one of the most horrific attacks on a Nigerian university in recent times.
On the 26th of July 2025 alone, over 30 female students were allegedly raped by the bandits who mobilised and invaded the student villiages in large convoy and vehicles.
“The operation is similar to the Boko Haram episode in the Chibok and Dapchi Girls Kidnap incident.
“The Lafia rape is a sad reminder of the collapse of the Nigerian State that has led to the gross devaluation of life and human right abuses of the Nigerian people in the hands of bandits and terrorists.
“In the same operation, male students who resisted the invasion were brutally hacked and butchered by the bandits.
“By the end of the invasion, the bandits had left a trail of blood, tears and sorrows on the mind of the University community,” one resident said.
Despite the gravity of the assault, sources lamented the shocking silence from both local and national media, as well as the lack of political response.
“What is more worrisome is the fact that the invasion did not draw the attention of both the local and national media.
“It appears, the non media coverage and reportage is a deliberate strategy of conspiracy of silence by the ruling political class of the state,” a source said.
Established in 2011, the institution has experienced a surge in student population, but without corresponding infrastructure — particularly housing.
Thousands of students are left to seek accommodation in poorly secured neighborhoods surrounding the institution, making them easy targets for criminals.
The mass rape and coordinated invasion by the bandit terrorists has now ignited urgent calls for accountability, security reinforcement, and a national response to what many are calling a “mini-Chibok tragedy in Lafia.”
Ramhan Nansel, Nasarawa State Police Public Relations Officer, however, claimed that it was armed robbers who attacked the university community on July 31.
He said that it was impossible for such a large number of female students to be raped, stressing that it was impossible for the rape incident to have happened in Lafia.
“I was surprised when I heard it that 30 students were raped.
“What happened was that armed robbers attacked the University on July 31st, and it was during the incident that they robbed a lady of her bag and then one male student was injured with cutlass while trying to escape,” he said.
“We cannot be in Lafia here and 30 students would be raped while we would do nothing and the university management will keep quiet too,” he said.
