A yet-to-be-identified student of the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, was shot d3ad in a suspected cult-related attack.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 shortly after students concluded their examinations for the day.

According to punch, the deceased was heading towards the back gate of the institution when some armed men accosted him, pulled out a gun and shot him at close range.

A student privy to the incident told the publication that the incident threw the campus into panic as students, who witnessed the shooting, scampered for safety.

“The student had just finished writing his exams and was heading towards the back gate when some boys approached him and shot him twice on the spot. The whole scenario happened very fast,” the student said.

Another student, who craved anonymity, said the assailants recovered a firearm from the deceased.

“The incident looked more like a cult attack because the victim seemed to have been armed before he was k!lled. We learnt immediately the boys shot him, they searched his bag and recovered a gun and a bullet. They also made sure he was d3ad before they left.”

A source in the school linked the attack to an ongoing rivalry between cult groups on campus.

“The k!lling was in retaliation for a shooting that occurred last week. One suspected cult member was shot but he survived. So this looks more like a payback,” the source claimed.

The spokesperson of the Yabatech, Adekunle Adams, said the incident did not occur on the premises of the institution.

“The incident occurred but not in the college. It happened at a lounge close to the college. There is no cult-related incident in the college, nothing of such,” Adams stated.

Spokesperson of The Lagos State Police Command, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident said that the deceased was shot by rival cult members.

The PPRO added that seven suspects had been arrested in connection with the crime, while the investigation was in progress.

“On Tuesday at about 3 pm, a distress call was received at Sabo Division that a suspected cultist was allegedly shot d3ad by a group of suspected rival cult members in the Yaba area,” he said.

“Upon receiving the report, a patrol team was swiftly mobilised to the scene, where the deceased was found lying in a pool of his blood.

“On close observation, visible marks of violence suspected to be bullet wounds were seen on the body while four rounds of live ammunition and some charms were recovered from the deceased’s pocket at the scene. The corpse has been evacuated and deposited in the morgue for autopsy.”

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says its 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will begin on April 24 and not April 25 as earlier announced.

JAMB spokesman, Dr Fabian Benjamin, announced this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

Benjamin said the adjustment had been made to accommodate essential commitments by the board and its partner agencies.

He said that prospective candidates could now print their notification slips, which contain vital information regarding their exam details.

He added that the notification slip indicates the examination date, venue (centre), time and other essential details necessary for success of the examination

“Candidates are encouraged to print their notification slips beginning from today, April 19.

“This will provide ample time for logistics arrangements to access their assigned centres within the chosen examination towns.

“To print the notification slip, candidates should visit www.jamb.gov.ng, click on “2025 UTME Slip Printing”, enter registration number and click on “Print Examination Slip”, he said.

The spokesman advised candidates to familiarise themselves with their examination centres after printing their slips, at least one or two days before the examination date.

According to him, this preparation will help ensure a smooth experience on the examination day.

Benjamin further said that candidates would be assigned to centres within their chosen examination towns as no candidate would be placed in a centre outside their selected town.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has cautioned the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) against any action capable of disrupting peace and academic activities at the Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE).

In a statement made available in Ado Ekiti on Saturday, the leadership of NANS Southwest Zone D, condemned and rejected what it called ‘veiled threats’ by SSANU Western Zone to mobilise its members across 26 universities in the zone for an industrial action or protest in FUOYE.

Earlier, FUOYE Governing Council had at its extraordinary meeting exonerated the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Fasina, of sexual allegations against him, found two leaders of FUOYE SSANU culpable of misconduct and directed them to write letters of apology and undertaking to abide with the laws of the university within seven days, although the council lifted their suspension with forfeiture of their half salaries during the period of suspension.

SSANU National Vice President, Western Zone, Abdussobur Salaam, in reaction, had in a statement on Thursday, rejected FUOYE Governing Council’s decision on the allegation of sexual harassment levelled against the VC.

Salaam had stated, ‘We have begun mobilisation of all 26 universities in the Western Zone of SSANU for a possible industrial action and we shall not stop until our demands are met’.

But NANS Southwest Zone D Coordinator, Taiwo Owolewa; General Secretary, Olutunde Oluwole; and Public Relations Officer, Eromidayo Kuku, stated that ‘Nigerian students and the entire NANS structure in the South-West and beyond will resist such moves with even greater mobilization across our over 70 tertiary institutions comprising more than 300,000 students.

‘We state without ambiguity that we will not fold our arms and watch any individual or group, whether union or non-union, plunge our institution into chaos or truncate the academic calendar that affects the future of over 50,000 students at FUOYE’.

The NANS leaders stated, ‘This is not a threat; this is a declaration of readiness to protect the academic future of Nigerian students.

‘FUOYE or any of our institutions in Southwest is not a battleground for political vendettas or union showdowns. Any attempt to use our campus to settle scores or create chaos will be met with legal, peaceful, but unshakable resistance from the student body’.

The student leaders, however, advised SSANU to pursue its grievances through the proper legal and administrative channels rather than resorting to disruptive actions that may lead to further crises.

They urged all stakeholders ‘to intervene decisively to ensure that the peace and stability of FUOYE and other institutions are not compromised. We are committed to dialogue, justice, and equity, but we will not allow the future of Nigerian students to be jeopardized by anyone hiding under the guise of unionism’.

In another development, the student body said it aligned with the findings of the panel which probed the sexual allegation against the VC, especially the conclusion that there was no case of sexual harassment, corroborated by previous investigations conducted by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and statements by the concerned parties.

‘Our foremost concern remains the welfare of students. We call on the university management to prioritize student-centred policies and uphold the ideals of fairness, accountability, and inclusiveness in decision-making.

‘We also support the Council’s plans to initiate a Peace and Reconciliation Committee and onboarding/reorientation programs, which we believe will help reset the institutional culture in a positive direction’, the body stated.