By Group 3 (News Writing and Reporting Class)
The Chief Security Officer of the University of Jos, Col. Shoky Bature (Rtd), has called on students to be more security conscious wherever they find themselves.
This advice came as a result of an attack on students by gun men at the Naraguta campus of the university on Wednesday, 26 September, which left two students wounded and one of the assailants dead.
According to Col. Bature, the campuses are well secured because security men have been sent to patrol round campus and in the hostels adding that members of the State Security Service (SSS) have been deployed to check miscreants on campus as it is likely that the gun men took advantage of the porous state of the university boundaries.
“Presently, on occasions, you will see policemen and the JTF patrolling to provide more security because students will soon start their examinations, precisely from the 2nd October. They will be patrolling the campus and other student areas” he said.
He further used this forum to inform students to cooperate with the security, stating that suspicious persons should be reported to the necessary authorities in their vicinity or call his phone number: 08033253985.
While commenting on the action taken by students, Col. Bature commended students for apprehending the assailants “I was very happy that they were very vigilant. I know that they have adhered to what we told them that security is every ones responsibility. If they had just folded their hands for the security to do the job, maybe we would have not apprehended the gun men.” He also reminded students to walk in pairs and always have their I.D. Cards properly hung on their neck.
The C.S.O also dispelled the rumours that one of the victims of the stray bullets was dead explaining that both victims are students of English Department. “One of the students Uju Imo was injured as a result of a gunshot but was rushed to Plateau Specialist Hospital; she has been operated upon and is recovering. The other victim, Esther Ugwu was hit by a stone on her forehead during the attack. She was treated at the school health center and has been discharged after a day.
Speaking on the status of the assailant who survived, the C.S.O. disclosed that he was an ex-student of the university. “From the I.D. card we recovered from him, he graduated in 2009, from Science Laboratory Technology (SLT) department. Presently, the other gun man is in the hands of the Police and SSS. He has been taken to the specialist hospital for treatment. The police will write a security report about him after the investigation. Since he is not a student, it is their own responsibility and they will feed us. Nobody is allowed to go there because they want to treat him and gain more information first about who sent them, their activities, and what the situation is.”
He stated his surprise as to how some media outfit said the attack was due to an ongoing election on campus. “It was not due to the election.”
As for the suspect the gunmen wanted to kill, Col. Bature said it was discovered that he may be a cultist and that previous gun wounds were seen on him after an x-ray was conducted. Although he denied any involvement in shady activities, he was taken into custody at the Angwan Rogo police station. He was later bailed and taken to the hospital for further check-up.
The C.S.O explained: “while we were checking his body, there was no sign of blood. If you have any injury, there should be a sign of blood, in his case, there wasn’t. Not even a sign of bullet penetration. Even his T- Shirt did not show any sign. Again, the wounds appeared to have been covered with cello tapes at some point in time. With this features, he definitely has a case. I pray that God in his infinite mercy will disclose his identity and any students who want to disrupt the school environment.”
In the main time, he is encouraging all hands to be on deck to ensure a safe examination atmosphere.
So far, the body of the other assailant has been deposited in the mortuary and activities in school have returned to normalcy.
