- Police dismiss rumour as fake news
The police in Akwa Ibom State have dismissed as false, claims that bandits attacked two secondary schools and abducted students.
Spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Timfon John, described the news as fake, urging residents of the State to disregard the viral information.
According to John, the command received information that bandits had broken into Mary Hanney Girls secondary and Ever Bright Star Academy Oron and abducted students, after a serious stampede, leaving some dead.
Reports said that a student of Mary Hanney Girls Secondary School, located beside Ever Bright Star Academy, had claimed she heard a gunshot from the Academy and alleged that kidnappers had taken some students away.
The rumour triggered fear among students in schools within the area, causing some of them to flee their classrooms.
The command, in response to the alarm, promptly deployed some personnel to the scene, the police spokesperson said.
“From the report gotten from the officers who visited the scene of the, the information was false,” she added.
Also, the Principal of Ever Bright Star Academy, Mr. Lawrence Esang, dismissed the report as fake.
He said: “The information that some of our students have been kidnapped is false. I supervised the school gates this morning until after 9am, when the exam bell rang. Nothing like that happened.
“The students are writing their exams peacefully. We invited the police when we saw many parents trooping into the compound so they could help calm the situation. Everywhere is peaceful now.”
A parent, Mrs. Margaret Akanekpe, said she rushed to the school immediately after hearing the rumour.
“When I arrived, I did not see anything. There was no casualty, no problem. The environment is peaceful,” she said.
Another parent, Mrs. Affiong Jerry, whose child attends Mary Hanney Girls Secondary School, said she panicked on hearing the rumour but was relieved to find no incident at the school when she arrived.
The Zonal Director of Education for Oron and Urue Offong/Oruko LGAs, Mr. Isaiah Okwong, who was also seen at the school, described the rumour as unfounded.
“All our students are complete. The student who started the rumour has been identified and will be sanctioned on Monday.
“We have locked in the boarders and released other students to their parents to reduce tension,” he said.
- NAN