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The No Weapon hostel at Kotei where the students were held hostage by the armed robbers.

Armed robbers attack students’ hostel in Kumasi

A number of robbers, some wielding pump action guns, last Thursday stormed the No Weapon Hostel, near the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, and robbed the occupants of 50 laptops, 30 electronic tablets, 60 mobile phones and an unspecified amount of money

 

The robbers held the students hostage for more than one hour, during which period they broke into some of the rooms and appropriated the items and the money.

For fear of their lives, some of the students jumped from the first and the second floors of the hostel to the ground, with some sustaining injuries as a result.

A Level 300 student, Afari Gyan, was injured in the waist and ribs in his attempt to escape.

Last Thursday’s incident was the second to have occurred at the No Weapon Hostel since January this year. 

Similar attacks are said to have occurred at 10 of the 100 hostels dotted around the KNUST since the beginning of the year.

Ordeal

Sharing their ordeal with the Daily Graphic, some of the students, who shed tears, said there was only one security man guarding the hostel, with 52 rooms, during the latest attack.

According to them, the security man was tied and locked up in one corner of the building by the robbers.

They said during the first attack on January 31, the robbers had broken into their rooms and stolen their laptops, electronic tablets, cell phones and money.

According to them, the security man, on that occasion, was said to have travelled to his home town for a funeral.

The students complained of lack of adequate security at the hostel.

Police intervention

Confirming the incident, the KNUST District Police Commander, ASP Mr Ransford Nsiah, said one patrol team received a distress call from the hostel but before it could reach the scene, the robbers had bolted.

To reduce the incidence of robbery attacks, the police have set up a police post which is a 10-minute walk away from the hostel.

 Mr Nsiah said he was currently in consultation with the Dean of Students of the KNUST towards creating a platform to educate students in the hostels on security.  

He commended the KNUST authorities for providing the police with four motorbikes to boost police patrols.

There are more than 100 hostels around KNUST, but most of them have inadequate security.

Since January this year, there have been attacks on 10 of the hostels, a situation which raises serious security concerns.

 

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