ATBU female students protest insecurity

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Female students of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, on Monday staged a peaceful protest following an armed robbery attack on their hostel, expressing fears over their safety and demanding improved security on campus.

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The students marched to the university’s Senate Building to register their grievances after suspected robbers reportedly invaded the female hostel in the early hours of Sunday and carted away valuables, including mobile phones.

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One of the victims, Fauziyya Abdullahi, said the incident had left many students traumatised and fearful of a possible recurrence.

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“Our main fear is if they come in here and march us out. We do not want to be another Chibok girls,” she said.

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She added, “We do not want to be used for campaigns. We do not want people to say she had a bright future. We want to stay here and live our bright future.

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“So please, we cannot wait 45 minutes for security to drive from town to this place. One security woman here is not enough to protect all of us.”

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Another victim, Rejoice Duke, recounted that the attackers invaded the hostel at about 2 a.m., breaking into several rooms and threatening students.

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“Some guys came into the hostel and broke into different rooms. They were asking for your life or your phone. They were able to cart away valuables, including mobile phones,” she said.

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Reacting to the incident, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, accompanied by members of the management team, visited the scene and described the robbery as unfortunate.

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Speaking on behalf of the management, the Head of the Directorate of Information, Zailani Bappah, assured students that measures would be taken to strengthen security on campus.

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“The management will now sit and use the information at hand to further improve security surveillance,” he said.

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Also speaking, the Bauchi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Nafiu Habib, said the command had commenced an investigation and was working to ensure that those responsible for the attack were identified, arrested and prosecuted.

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He said the effort formed part of measures to sustain the Safe School Initiative.

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“We discovered that about eight rooms in the female hostel were burgled and about 20 mobile phones of different types were stolen,” the police spokesperson said.

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