At least 10 students at Nigeria's Ambrose Alli University have been killed in gang-related gun and machete fights, the BBC reported Thursday. Officials at the university in the town of Ekpoma refute the claim, saying there has only been one death over the past four days, but Edo state regional assembly member Patrick Ajuenede confirmed the 10 deaths. The gangs, known locally as cults, are growing in numbers as the number of students gradually increases. They are also growing in sophistication, with reports of one Ambrose Alli gang hiring mercenaries from another university to carry out the killings. In the 1990s, the groups slowed their activities in the face of stiffer penalties and lengthy jail sentences, but in light of this week's surge in bloodshed, Edo state governor Lucky Igbinedion has called for an emergency state security meeting, the report said.