The management of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi has shut down the school after students’ protested the death of a student.
It happened that a 500-level student was killed by alleged armed robbers who stole his mobile phone.
The deceased final year Geology student, Joseph Agabaidu, was stabbed by assailants while they were trying to steal his mobile device.
Agabaidu had been coming back to his lodge located around the Yelwan Tudu market in the Yelwa area, a Bauchi metropolis suburb around 7pm on Saturday when he was assaulted. He was quickly taken to the nearest hospital for medical treatment but unfortunately, had not survived the severe injuries from the knife.
The incident triggered a protest among students of the school who stormed the Yelwa Campus to express their frustration at the inadequate security in and around the campus.
The protesting students had called for the attention of the management and the government.
The management led by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Sani Kunya, and the state chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities had attempted to pacify the students. This was after they had locked the two gates of the university for more than four hours. The management had appealed to them to open the gates, but the aggrieved students had refused.
Following this “disrespect” by the students to the management, the school was closed down for the next week in order to allay the tense situation on the campus.
A statement by the Deputy Registrar Academic, Fatima Abdullahi, and titled: “Closure of university,” and approved by the Vice Chancellor of the institution had been quickly released.
In the statement, the management directed all students to promptly vacate the two campuses. Thee school security guards have been drafted to ensure a strict compliance with this order.
