Breaking: Crisis in Bauchi University as students protest schoolmate’s killing

Report reaching us indicates that there is currently pandemonium at the Yelwa Campus of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, as the police teargassed students who came out to protest the murder of their schoolmate.

According to the report, the protest was a reaction to the killing of a final-year student of the institution, Joseph Agabaidu, who was stabbed to death by some assailants who were trying to steal his mobile phone.

The 500-level Geology student was said to be returning to his lodge situated around the Yelwan Tudu market in the Yelwa area, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis, at around 7 pm on Saturday when he was attacked.

Agabaidu was rushed to the hospital for medical treatment but could not survive the severe injuries from the knife.

The students protested peacefully within the school premises but were stopped by security men. They insisted on going outside but were denied.

The gate was shut, and the police told the students to go back some distance, but they refused. The policemen then fired tear gas, which forced the students to move away from the gate.

Those going in and out of the campus were seen coughing profusely as a result of the teargas that the police had shot.

Many people were seen using handkerchiefs, veils and other items to cover their noses.

The teargassing of the students further aggravated them as they forcefully closed the gate and blocked all roads within the campus.

This left lecturers and students going in and out of the school stranded as the students refused to open the gate and allow vehicular and human movements.

Academic activities were also paralysed at both the Yelwa and the Gubi campuses, as students attending the school for lectures could not go in. Those going to the Gubi campus could not also go out.

Despite several efforts by the management, the students refused to open the gate to allow movement.