Tragedy at FUTO: Bank Manager Shot Dead and 2 Female Students Abducted in Campus Attack

OWERRI, Nigeria — A brazen attack on the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) campus turned fatal on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, after suspected kidnappers shot and killed a prominent bank manager and abducted two female students. The violent assault has thrown the university community into deep mourning and triggered heightened security alerts across Imo State.

The late victim, identified as Mr. Ossy, a branch manager at Polaris Bank, had entered the campus to drop off his children, who are enrolled as students at the institution. According to police reports and university statements, armed hoodlums accosted the manager's vehicle within the school premises. While his children managed to escape into safety during the chaos, Mr. Ossy was fatally shot by the attackers.

Before fleeing the scene, the gunmen seized two female university students and forcibly abducted them. The identity of the missing students has been withheld while law enforcement agencies coordinate with their families.

At the scene, state security forces and university administration immediately initiated high-level emergency consultations, beginning with Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Garba Bosso, directing specialized tactical units—including the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Area Command squads—to track down the perpetrators and secure the safe rescue of the two students.

Concurrently, FUTO Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ikechukwu Dozie, met with police leadership to demand increased patrols around the university perimeter and neighboring student communities such as Ihiagwa, Eziobodo, Obinze, and Nekede. To reinforce these measures, University Registrar Chinonso Uba issued an official advisory urging students and staff to exercise extreme caution, avoid non-essential movements, and report suspicious activities to campus security.

The brutal killing and abduction have intensified widespread anxieties over worsening security conditions and kidnapping risks around academic institutions in southeastern Nigeria. Polaris Bank released an official statement expressing profound grief over the death of their branch manager, extending condolences to his family and pledging full cooperation with law enforcement agencies investigating the murder.

As search-and-rescue operations expand across the surrounding forested areas, police authorities have withheld specific operational details to prevent compromising ongoing rescue efforts.