‘We Live In Constant Fear Of Attacks’ – Sokoto Varsity Students

Several students in the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, have come forward to speak about being attacked by thugs in the area.

Two students were reportedly attacked by armed people from the neighbouring villages. Aliyu Saleh, a 100L student of Law was cut on his shoulder with a machete on his way back to the hostel and Salman Mojeed, a final year student of Modern European Languages and Linguistics, was attacked at the school’s stadium where he escaped with a cut on his neck.

Salman Mojeed, one of the two victims of the recent attacks revealed to CAMPUS REPORTER, how he and his friends were attacked by the armed men.

“On the 9th of September 2019, after [finishing our] rehearsal, we went to the stadium to wash our bodies. [On our way] back, we realized that 14 armed men were waiting for us outside the gate.”

“Immediately, we were surrounded by those men with knives. But I was given a cut on the neck and arm following my refusal to surrender myself to them, we later grabbed two of them and escaped to the security office,” he narrated.

A 300L student in the Department of Economics, Moshood Mariam, told CAMPUS REPORTER that during the first semester, she lost her phone to pilferers who accosted her with a stick and knife on her way back to her hostel at night.

“I was a victim of [an] attack by these armed villagers during the first semester. While I was returning from a class that night, they accosted me with a long stick and knife.”

“I was hit with the stick and my phone was collected my phone from me. Till date, I am still scared every night to go inside the school for reading,” she stated.

Jimoh Ibrahim a 300L student in the Faculty of Education suffered an attack similar to Maryam, explaining that he too was attacked during the first-semester examination period.

“During the first week of our first semester exams, at around 10 pm, I was inside the room when I [received] a call. Due to network problems, I walked out of the room to [receive] the call. While [speaking on the phone], two strange guys walked up to me and tried to snatch the phone from me, but I dragged it and they both [brought] cutlasses out, [saying] that they would cut my hand off if I refuse to surrender the phone to them. That was how they forcefully collected the phone and ran away,” he revealed.

CAMPUS REPORTER gathered from Usman Taofeek, an alumnus of the institution that the school’s insecurity problems began after the administration of Professor Riskuwa, a former Vice-Chancellor of the school.

“To my understanding, while I was still an undergraduate at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, we realised that the former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Riskuwa, really tried enough in giving security to the students.”

He further attributed the current state insecurity in his alma mater to the failure to employ new labour forces.

“[For some time now], the school management [has] failed to employ adequate security men and this has turned to a situation whereby one security will be working for 24 hours which is not appropriate,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Students’ Union President Comrade Faruku Barade, in an interview with CAMPUS REPORTER, revealed that the perpetrators of the attack had been arrested and shall be arraigned in a court of law as soon as possible.

Finally, he informed the students that the Union had met with the school management and steps have been devised to combat against insecurity in the institution.