Over 50 armed robbers attack Fedpoly Bauchi hostels, injure 10 students

Not fewer than ten students of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, were variously wounded when armed robbers, numbering more than 50, attacked the hostels within the premises in the early hours of Tuesday.

The students subsequently embarked on a peaceful protest at the gate of the Polytechnic, disrupting traffic flow on the Bauchi–Tafawa Balewa Federal Highway in the morning and calling on the authorities to take urgent action to protect them.

According to the students, the armed robbers invaded the hostels at about 2 a.m., pointing guns at them and, in the process, macheting some of those who resisted.

Some students who spoke to journalists decried the lack of adequate security in the institution, making it easy for anyone to gain access despite the presence of internal security personnel.

The protesters, who refused to allow lecturers and other staff entrance into the institution during the demonstration, said that the living conditions in the hostels are terrible, especially at night, as there is no light, leaving the area in darkness.

One of the students told journalists: “We were sleeping when we heard noises from the other blocks. The armed robbers, numbering more than 50, attacked us with guns and cutlasses, speaking in the Hausa language.”

According to him, “Though they did not kill any of us, they wounded some students seriously. One even sustained a spinal cord injury.”

One of the injured students, the class representative of ND I Computer Science, Matta Musa, was attacked on the head, while several others were taken to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi.

The students accused the police of failing to come to their aid during the robbery attack, despite being stationed just a few metres away from the hostels at the main entrance of the Polytechnic.

SUG President, Haruna Umar, condemned the attack, calling it the first of its kind in the institution’s history. “This is students showing their grievances to management and authorities,” he said.

The protest became tense as suspected hoodlums attempted to hijack it, blocking the federal highway near the campus. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, prompting some students to retaliate with stones before they were overpowered.

Confirming the development, the Bauchi State Police Command stated that its personnel had been deployed to the Polytechnic to maintain law and order.

The Command’s PPRO, CSP Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, speaking to journalists at the scene, explained: “The situation is calm now. As you can see, members of the public are going about their lawful engagements.”

According to him: “Yesterday night, some criminals entered the boys’ hostels and stabbed some students, forcing others to come out. They then embarked on this protest.”

The PPRO added: “The Nigeria Police Force, Bauchi State Command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, will not rest on its oars in providing security to members of the public.

“We are to give maximum security to the public and, as you can see, the road blocked by the miscreants has been cleared, as led by a senior police officer, so that members of the public can move without disturbance.”

He further stated: “Security is everybody’s business. We are not happy with the attitude of the students; we expected that they would have exhibited some decorum. As you can see, the Command has personnel stationed in front of the gate, including our task force vans, to give maximum security to the citizens.”

He added that the Divisional Police Headquarters in Yelwa is not far from the Polytechnic, and that the students should have reported the incident instead of taking to the streets in protest and depriving other members of the public of their right to movement.

He said, “We are here to ensure that minimum force is applied to douse the tension. The students should go back and allow security operatives to take charge of the situation.”

The Public Relations Officer of the Institution, Mr. Rabiu Wadda, who spoke with our Correspondent, explained that the management is engaged in crisis management and has immediately shut down the school indefinitely to prevent further breakdown of law and order.

“I have been in the school since 4:00 am, trying to curtail this situation. As we speak, I have not gained entrance into the campus.

“Right now, I can’t precisely give you the accurate number of students who were affected, but I know some students have been taken to the hospital.”

He said that the management shut down the campus to keep the students safe from further attacks, since the protests had been hijacked by hoodlums.

Meanwhile, the Management of the Polytechnic has given notice of the closure of academic activities with immediate effect.

The notice of the closure, signed by Alh. Kasimu Salihu, Registrar, reads:
“Management of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi has received the disturbing news of some unscrupulous elements who invaded the male students’ hostel, making away with their belongings and injuring about two students.”

“Consequent upon this sad development, students came out of the Polytechnic Main Gate to express their justifiable frustration, calling on Management to act,” the statement further read.

It added, “While Management acted immediately, with all Principal Officers and Management Staff showing up to address the students and the situation, it has been established that hoodlums who do not mean the students and the institution well had taken over what was meant to be a peaceful protest.”

The statement concluded, “Against the background of this ugly situation, the Management hereby orders the immediate closure of academic activities. By this order, students are given two (2) hours within which to vacate the Polytechnic campus, until further notice.”

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