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How banditry is threatening university education for the Northern girl-child

The abduction of female students at Federal University Gusau, in Zamfara State, Federal University Dutsinma, in Katsina State, as well as the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, in Nasarawa State by bandits has continued to dominate the news. Northern Bureau Chief, MUHAMMAD SABIU, examines the circumstances leading to the abduction, and how banditry is threatening girl-child education in the North.

Thursday, September 21, 2023 will remain indelible for universities in the country because it was the day over 20 female students of Federal University, Gusau, in Zamfara State were abducted by bandits who stormed their hostel located at Sabon Gida, a suburb of Gusau metropolis.

Ahmed Maru, a resident of Gusau, spoke about the abduction. He told Nigerian Tribune that “We are used to abduction and all kinds of criminalities but for bandits to come and pick female students in the metropolis is least expected. If they could do so without stress, then nowhere is safe.”

According to findings, a search and rescue team from the Nigerian Army was in the bush for two days, searching for the abducted students until Sunday, September 25, 2023 when six of the abducted students were eventually freed after an exchange of fire between the army and the bandits.

Thus, as of the time of this report, a statement by the university authorities obtained by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that so far, 16 abductees have regained their freedom comprising 14 students and two others.

The statement also called for calm from the students and staff while assuring the university community that concerted efforts had been put in place by the management to free others still in captivity.

“We wish you well in all your endeavours as we look forward to the safe return of those in captivity,” the statement concluded.

October 4, 2023 was another sad day for the university system in Katsina State, as the Katsina State police command confirmed the abduction of five female students of the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma. A statement from the police image maker, Abubakar Aliyu, who confirmed the abduction, said the hoodlums stormed the female hostel located outside the university campus around 2am and abducted the students.

He said a search team had been deployed on the orders of the state commissioner of police to rescue the students. However, after two weeks, as of the time of this report, the kidnapped female students are yet to be freed from their captives.

In another incident, this time in Nasarawa State, bandits stormed Anguwan Kare around 10.30 pm and abducted four female students of Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

Speaking on the abduction, the state police image maker, DSP Ramlan Nansel, said the command had received a distress call at about 12.55 am on that fateful day stating that bandits had stormed the area and kidnapped some students.

He said that in collaboration with other security outfits they swung into action. According to him, after few days of intensive search, the four kidnapped students were rescued.

Findings by the Nigerian Tribune, revealed that their freedom was made possible after the payment of undisclosed amount as ransom.

Why the abductions?

Taking a cursory look at the abductions in these universities, the question many ask is why have female students become the subject of attacks and subsequent abductions, while the male students were left out?

A source who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune said that female students are easy prey. A student of the Federal University Gusau, who pleaded for anonymity said that, “Our female counterparts are not conscious about their environment. They get carried away and are not mindful about their environment. Thus, when the bandits attack, they go after them.”

Another respondent differed, contending that it is not correct to say female students are easy prey.

He argued that the bandits deliberately target the female students because they (bandits) are looking for those who will cook, clean, and sweep their surroundings for them, saying, “from my findings, most of the female victims end up becoming their wives.”

The source, who was once a kidnap victim, having spent three months in captivity, contended that: “Many women, including girls, that were kidnapped cook for the bandits. Some are ‘adopted’ as wives. The bandits’ den is another world. Think of what is happening in the real world; so it is also in the forest. There was a kiosk, bar, mini market inside the forest.”

Some pundits also attributed the frequent abduction of female students to the failure of the university to provide enough hostels for both the male and female students. Investigations revealed that most of the hostels are owned by entrepreneurs.

According to sources, “These entrepreneurs build hostels and gave it out it out to students. Unlike before where universities are in charge of these hostels, today most university managements don’t even know who the owners of these hostels are.”

Further findings by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that these hostels are built without recourse to adequate security, thus exposing the students to danger.

An angry parent, Hajiya Ummm Kalthum, fumed, “If you look at the abductions, they were all carried out in hostels owned by these businessmen.

“Look at the attacks, they were carried out outside the school premises. Some are a walking distance from the schools; yet one wonders why hostels built within community will be target of attacks.”

She continued, “They come and take the students away without any efforts by the community to resist. Where are the local vigilantes? Where are the people? Bandits have the affrontery to go and abduct these girls? Could there be fifth columnists? I think something is amiss!”

A parent whose daughter was among those abducted in Gusau remarked that “the hostels are porous just like the school. The Federal University, Gusau was built on the outskirts of the metropolis. It is not fenced. All manner of people can just come in from all directions. Also, the hostels have no security guards.”

A disturbed parent, Attahiru Abubakar, attributed the abduction to ‘bad eggs’ within the community, arguing, “As long as the student hostels remain in the community and not on campus, the hostels are no longer safe as informants will continue to feed these bandits with information.”

In the case of Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUD) in Katsina, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Armaya’u Bichi, in an interview, remarked that the bandits gave reasons for the abduction of the female students.

He said the bandits revealed that they were revenging the attack on their leaders in Batsari Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, the bandits told the security team negotiating for the release of the students that their houses were burnt and their cattle and grains taken away.

“They wanted to avenge the attack in Batsari, but another terror group leader was not in support of their actions and he stopped them. So, they came to Dutsinma to take the revenge,” he said.

The VC contended that he warned students to consider where they would stay off campus because of the vulnerability of these attacks, but according to him, the students often do not comply.

How have universities responded?

The VC of FUD contended that the management has put in place some measures to address the issue of insecurity after the abduction of the students. First, he said the university was being fenced.

Apart from that, he added that, “We’ve also dug trenches around the wall. When I was appointed VC, I wrote to the commander in Katsina to give us soldiers and 30 have been sent to us. We also have 30 policemen. We’ve also hired about 60 vigilante members who patrol at night.”

Similarly, the Federal University Gusau, just like its counterpart in Katsina, has put in some measures to address the issue of insecurity. One of the steps taken is to ask its students to relocate to Sabon Gida which is now secured with armed security operatives or stay within Gusau metropolis.

A statement issued by the information officer of the university, Umar Usman and made available to the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the move is because the management believes that students are more vulnerable to bandit attacks when living on the outskirts of the town, especially Damba.

In Nasarawa, the university management has maintained that those living within the school have no cause to worry. But as of the time of filling the report, there was no official commitment from the university management on how it would provide security to students living off campus.

However, the state governor, Suleiman Abdullahi, has promised to intensify security in areas where the students are mostly found. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the governor directed all the security agencies in the state to put in concrete measures to provide security for the students.

Threat to girl-child education

Despite the measures and assurances given by the government as well as the universities, a cross section of parents who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune expressed their worries over the development.

A parent, Abdullahi Musa, remarked that “when I went to pick my daughter, I heard a female student talking to her father. He was telling her to come home, that this was the end of her university education.”

Musa noted, “This is a very serious issue as many parents I talked to were expressing this view. So, there›s the need for government to tackle this insecurity in our universities or else the number of female enrolments will drastically drop.”

Another parent who had a daughter in the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, told a foreign Hausa media service that he has withdrawn his daughter from the university, adding that his plan is to marry her off, rather than “me being alive to hear that a bandit has married her.”

Disturbed by this development, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has emphasised that the abductions are a serious threat to girl-child education.

“A pointer to the unfolding tragedy is in an apparent voice note on social media where a girl was heard stating that her father had called her home, ordering that her pursuit of a university degree be abandoned.

“This is an absolutely and highly regrettable development to be condemned in all ramifications,” ACF declared.

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