Bauchi poly shut down as students protest over robbery

A protest staged yesterday by students of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi forced the institution’s management to shut down academic activities. The protest followed an attack on the students’ hostels by suspected armed robbers who injured several students and stole their belongings. Findings indicate that the Bauchi–Dass road, particularly from Dass Park to Gwallameji community and up […]

A protest staged yesterday by students of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi forced the institution’s management to shut down academic activities.

The protest followed an attack on the students’ hostels by suspected armed robbers who injured several students and stole their belongings.

Findings indicate that the Bauchi–Dass road, particularly from Dass Park to Gwallameji community and up to Birshin Fulani, is prone to security challenges, especially armed robbery, theft, and other social vices, due to its cosmopolitan nature, hosting three different tertiary institutions.

Investigations further revealed reports of robbery and theft incidents at the Polytechnic’s female hostel, as well as off-campus attacks where students were dispossessed of gadgets and other valuables.

Another factor said to have worsened the security situation is the alleged negligence and lapses by the private security company contracted to guard the institution.

Daily Trust gathered that the armed robbers invaded the hostel at midnight on Monday, wielding dangerous weapons, and carted away students’ gadgets and other valuables.

The incident prompted the students to stage a peaceful demonstration to express their anger over the management’s alleged failure to protect them.

The protest began with students blocking movement at the main entrance of the school, but later turned violent when suspected hoodlums attempted to hijack it by blocking the federal highway beside the campus.

Police responded by firing tear gas to disperse the crowd, prompting some students to hurl stones in retaliation before they were overpowered.

A student, who identified himself as Sani, said the armed robbers attacked in the middle of the night, injuring many students and stealing their mobile phones and valuables.

“We decided to hold a protest to draw the attention of the management to the seriousness of the situation, but police turned it into something else by firing tear gas at us,” he said.

 

Another student, Abubakar, alleged that insecurity had plagued the school for a long time.

“The hoodlums come with knives and cutlasses to invade the hostels, robbing students of their phones. Recently, they have been targeting the female hostel at night,” he said.

Speaking to journalists, SUG President Haruna Umar condemned the attack, describing it as the first of its kind in the institution’s history.

“These students are simply expressing their grievances to the management and relevant authorities,” he said.

A community leader in Gwallameji, Muhammad Munir Garba, blamed the incident on the failure of the Polytechnic’s private security.

He alleged that many of the guards, employed by a company facing operational and salary challenges, were demotivated.

He appealed to the federal government to intervene by recruiting security personnel from host communities.

Meanwhile, the management of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi has ordered the immediate closure of academic activities.

The directive was contained in a statement signed by the Registrar, Alhaji Kasimu Salihu, who said the management received disturbing reports of some unscrupulous elements invading the male students’ hostel, carting away belongings and injuring about two students.

“Consequent upon this sad development, students came out at the Polytechnic Main Gate to express their justifiable frustration, calling on management to act,” Salihu said.

He explained that while the management responded immediately, with all principal officers and staff present to address the students, it was later established that hoodlums, who did not have the interest of the students or the institution at heart, had hijacked what began as a peaceful protest.

“Against the background of this ugly situation, the management hereby orders the immediate closure of academic activities. By this order, students are given two hours within which to vacate the polytechnic campus until further notice,” Salihu added.

Responding to the students’ allegations over persistent security challenges, the Polytechnic’s Public Relations Officer, Rabiu Wada, told Daily Trust that no reasonable person would downplay security matters, stressing that “security is everybody’s business” and that no institution of learning would joke with it.

“We are doing everything possible to secure the lives and properties of our students. While there are challenges, management is making frantic efforts to address them.

“Recently, the entire security architecture of the polytechnic was overhauled and is now headed by a retired military colonel to handle the situation,” Wada said.

He explained that, despite the new policy where all federal institutions fund security through internally generated revenue, the polytechnic owes no security personnel any outstanding salaries in the last two years.

“When such a calamity befalls the school, accusations are bound to come. But I assure you that if we had prior information about the robbery, it would not have happened. As humans, we take this as a challenge, and management has acted to forestall future occurrences,” he said.

Wada added that the polytechnic has engaged the State Commissioner of Police, the Director of DSS, and the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, all of whom have pledged support. However, he declined to disclose specific arrangements for security reasons.

He appealed to students to regard the management, lecturers, and other staff as their parents. “Whatever we tell them in terms of maintaining peace, they should listen to us and not to miscreants who would lead them into violence or public disorder,” he said.

 

Police arrest 51 suspects

Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Police Command has arrested 51 suspects following the students’ protest over an armed robbery incident in their hostels.

Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, said the arrests include 36 males and 12 females involved in the unrest, as well as three suspected armed robbers linked to the initial attack.

Wakil said the incident began on August 12, at about 4:54 am, when unidentified hoodlums scaled the institution’s fence and forcefully took students’ phones.

He said some students confronted the intruders, sustaining injuries. Police teams from E Division responded, evacuating victims to the school clinic.

Wakil said the students expressed grievances over inadequate security, poor clinic facilities, and other welfare issues.

He said, “Despite interventions by the deputy rector and registrar, the protest escalated. Students blocked the Bauchi–Tafawa Balewa–Dass highway, burned tyres, threw stones at commuters, and looted nearby shops.

“Reinforcement teams dispersed the crowd using minimal force, arresting those directly involved. Subsequent investigations identified and apprehended three suspects — Mansur Yakubu (20), Abbas Auwal (20), and Musa Bala (20), all from the Lushi area.

“The suspects confessed to conspiring with 13 others, some still at large, to invade the hostels, steal valuables including phones and laptops, and injure resisting students.”

Wakil revealed that prime suspect Musa Bala, an ex-convict released three months ago after serving two years for a similar offence, admitted he was recruited by one “Daddy” of Birshin Fulani, described as the mastermind.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu, has directed a discreet investigation into the causes of the unrest.

He also ordered the release of all female students arrested, with male suspects to be screened and released on bail if found uninvolved.

Those implicated will face prosecution, he said.

The command warned against unlawful protests, stressing that while freedom of expression is a constitutional right, it must not be used to justify criminal acts or public disorder.

“The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to maintaining peace, protecting lives and property, and taking decisive action against any group that disrupts public order,” Wakil said.