The deteriorating security crisis in Nasarawa State has reached a terrifying new height after a large convoy of heavily armed bandits stormed the Federal University of Lafia, leaving behind a devastating trail of rape, assault, and bloodshed.
Sources within the University community, who pleaded strict anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the attacks, told Daily Independent that for over two weeks, students have been subjected to unrelenting terror—ranging from kidnapping and killings to widespread sexual violence.
But the worst came on July 26, 2025, when the bandits launched a full-scale assault.
According to witnesses, the attackers —moving in a coordinated convoy of vehicles— invaded student-populated areas surrounding the University, including 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 raped by the bandits who mobilised and invaded the student villages 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.”
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.”
Since its establishment in 2011, the Federal University of Lafia 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 bandits has now ignited urgent calls for accountability, security reinforcement, and a national response to what many are calling a “mini-Chibok tragedy in Lafia.”
Reacting, the Nasarawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Ramhan Nansel, denied that a large number of students were raped.
While speaking to SaharaReporters, he said armed robbers attacked the University on July 31.
“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 denied that it was possible for the rape incident to have happened while police personnel were stationed in Lafia.
“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. It is a sensational report and I was surprised when I heard it that 30 students were raped.”
