Students Injured As Over 50 Armed Robbers Attack Fedpoly Bauchi Hostels
Students of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, on Tuesday protested after some gunmen attacked some hostels within the school premises.
It was gatheres that no fewer than 10 students of the institution were variously wounded when the armed robbers, numbering more than 50, attacked the hostels in the early hours of Tuesday.
The students who protested in front of the gate of the Polytechnic, disrupted traffic flow on the Bauchi–Tafawa Balewa Federal Highway in the morning and calling on the authorities to take urgent action to protect them.
According to the students, the armed robbers invaded the hostels at about 2 a.m., pointing guns at them and, in the process, macheting some of those who resisted.
Some students who spoke to journalists decried the lack of adequate security in the institution, making it easy for anyone to gain access despite the presence of internal security personnel.
The protesters, who refused to allow lecturers and other staff entrance into the institution during the demonstration, said that the living conditions in the hostels are terrible, especially at night, as there is no light, leaving the area in darkness.
One of the students told journalists: “We were sleeping when we heard noises from the other blocks. The armed robbers, numbering more than 50, attacked us with guns and cutlasses, speaking in the Hausa language.”
According to him, “Though they did not kill any of us, they wounded some students seriously. One even sustained a spinal cord injury.”
One of the injured students, the class representative of ND I Computer Science, Matta Musa, was attacked on the head, while several others were taken to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi.
The students accused the police of failing to come to their aid during the robbery attack, despite being stationed just a few metres away from the hostels at the main entrance of the Polytechnic.
SUG President, Haruna Umar, condemned the attack, calling it the first of its kind in the institution’s history.
“This is students showing their grievances to management and authorities,” he said.
Confirming the development, the Bauchi State Police Command stated that its personnel had been deployed to the Polytechnic to maintain law and order.
The spokesperson for the command, Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, while speaking to journalists at the scene, said, “The situation is calm now. As you can see, members of the public are going about their lawful engagements.
“Yesterday night, some criminals entered the boys’ hostels and stabbed some students, forcing others to come out. They then embarked on this protest”.
The PPRO added, “The Nigeria Police Force, Bauchi State Command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, will not rest on its oars in providing security to members of the public.
“We are to give maximum security to the public and, as you can see, the road blocked by the miscreants has been cleared, as led by a senior police officer, so that members of the public can move without disturbance.”
He further stated, “Security is everybody’s business. We are not happy with the attitude of the students; we expected that they would have exhibited some decorum. As you can see, the Command has personnel stationed in front of the gate, including our task force vans, to give maximum security to the citizens.”
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
