ATBU students protest killing of colleague by robbers

Hundreds of students of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi have embarked on a peaceful demonstration to protest the killing of a 500-level student, who was stabbed to death by suspected robbers.

The protesters stormed the main gate of Yalwa Campus of the institution around 8am Monday holding leaves peacefully.

The heavy presence of police however prevented the students from coming outside the university campus.

Daily Trust gathered that the deceased was killed at Yelwan Tudu market at about 7.00pm on Saturday by suspected robbers who attempted to forcefully take his phone.

One of the protesters, who pleaded anonymity, lamented the worsening insecurity and the failure of the government and school management to provide adequate security for students staying off-campus.

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“In the wake of this heartbreaking loss, we want the school management, the police, and the Bauchi State government to prioritize and enhance the security of students within the state,” the student said.

Another student told our correspondent that the deceased, Joseph Obiaje Agabaidu, hailed from Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State.

When contacted, ATBU Director of Information and Public Relations, Zailani Bappa, said the management was still trying to ascertain the identity of the murdered student because he was killed outside the campus.

Bappa said, “We are yet to receive information from the police about the killing of our student. We just wake up seeing our students holding a peaceful demonstration against the killing of their colleague. Till now, the police have not officially informed the management about the killing of our student.

“What we are now doing is calm down the demonstration because the students were angry with the incident and we are now occupied with the dousing the tension to forestall clashes between the students and the police. We would wait for police details on the deceased before making an official statement.”

All efforts made to get comments of the Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ahmed Wakil, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.