Fear grips Nasarawa varsity students, residents over serial kidnappings

Fear grips Nasarawa varsity students, residents over serial kidnappings

There is palpable fear and tension in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State following the persistent kidnapping of the university students by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.

Recently, students of the Federal University, Lafia, living in the Gandu community of the area, have been living in fear over the repeated kidnap of their colleagues by the bandits.

Arewa PUNCH reports that Gandu community is a well-known students’ hub in Lafia, and which accommodates over 6,000 students of the university, including the local residents and other businesses.

Arewa PUNCH investigations reveal that so far, over 12 students of the university have been kidnapped for ransom by the gunmen who usually carry out their activities unhindered.

A few weeks ago, the gunmen again invaded the Gandu community located about two kilometers away from the university, and shot a 300-level student of the Sociology Department in the institution.

Findings by our correspondent further reveal that the gunmen also kidnapped a popular businessman during the attack as they shot sporadically into the air to scare the people while they took away their captives.

A resident of the area who pleaded anonymity for fear of being targeted told our correspondent that the incident has caused great serious panic, mistrust and mutual suspicion among to residents of the area, adding that it has equally ensured that many of the students stay indoors.

The source said, “The student who was shot by the bandits was mercifully immediately rushed to the hospital where he is still undergoing treatment.

“Our lives are no longer safe owing to the persistent attacks and kidnapping of students and other criminal activities in this environment.

“We can no longer go to school to read in the night for fear of being attacked or molested by kidnappers and phones snatchers,” he said.

Arewa PUNCH gathered further that another recent attack launched in the area by the gunmen led to the killing of a mechanic and the kidnap of his wife and daughter.

The deceased, identified as Danteni, while trying to protect his family during the attack, sustained gunshot injuries and later died in a hospital where he was taken for treatment.

Speaking on the incident, the District Head of Gandu community, Abdullahi Mohammed, lamented that the absence of adequate security in the area is responsible for the unabbeting attacks on the students by the gunmen.

In the case of the killed mechanic, he disclosed that several efforts were made to invite the security agencies to their rescue and in order to save the deceased and his family, but they did not arrive at the scene of the attack on time, a situation which led to his untimely death.

As a result, Mohammed called on the state government to, as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of the community by ensuring that security personnel are massively deployed to the area.

Meanwhile, in spite of the calls and appeals for more security presence in the area, the heads of security agencies in the state seem unperturbed as they have yet to deploy their personnel to the Gandu community in order to nip the insecurity situation in the bud.

This, “nonchalant attitude,” according to another student, “has emboldened the criminals and led to the continuing attacks on the helpless students who are most times robbed of their belongings, severely beaten or kidnapped by the bandits.

Arewa PUNCH learnt that the most recent of the attacks was the kidnap of seven students of the Federal University, Lafia in the early hours of Thursday by bandits who, yet again, stormed the Gandu community with several sophisticated weapons.

A resident of the area told Arewa PUNCH that the gunmen invaded the students’ community at about 2 am on the fateful day, shooting sporadically into the air, which made them (students) scamper for safety.

The source who went emotional while narrating the ordeal explained that the criminal operation lasted about two hours, adding that efforts to secure the intervention of the security agencies proved abortive.

Irritated by the constant attacks, students of the university had to embark on a peaceful protest, demanding an end to the incessant kidnappings and killings while also chanting solidarity songs seeking the speedy release of their colleagues from captivity.

Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Government has promised to collaborate with the security agencies in order to forestall further attacks on the institution of learning.

During a visit to the Federal University, Lafia, the State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, expressed concern over the growing insecurity around tertiary institutions in the state.

While registering his sympathy with the management of the institution over the sad incident, Governor Sule reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensure that security is enhanced around the students’ residential areas in the state and to curtail the issues of insecurity.

Reacting to the development, the Commander, National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre, CSC Tersoo Shaapera, assured of his team’s commitment to protect universities in the state and other states of the federation.

He stressed that the attacks on students and schools by bandits, necessitated the Federal Government of Nigeria to launch the programme, adding that the Nigeria Security And Civil Defense Corps was given the mandate to spearhead the programme across the country.

“The NSCDC will be collaborating with the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, and private security organisations for the safe schools drive,” Shaapera stated.

He maintained that “The challenge cuts across all geo-political zones though with differences in its manifestation. Terrorism and insurgency had resulted in the worrisome kidnap and abduction of students and teachers with the destruction of the physical structures of schools.

“For me, as Commander of the Centre, the establishment of the NSSRCC has come as a serious and strategic intervention to address the menace of insecurity in schools, and gladly, different measures have been taken as panacea to ending the problem.

“With the support and collaboration of all and sundry, I believe the goal is realisable. All we need to do is demonstrate the willingness in support of what the Federal Government has started. We must all unite against anything that will affect the teaching and learning process in any school, both the ones in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas,” he said.