Students of the Plateau State University on Monday took to the streets in protest over an attack on their institution by armed men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
Our correspondent gathered on Monday that one student was shot while another female student was allegedly raped by the gunmen who invaded the female hostel on Sunday night.
It was also learnt that some offices belonging to lecturers were also burgled by the hoodlums and many items carted away.
The students, who were angered by the development blocked the major road leading to the institution located at Bokkos Local Government Area and called on government and school management to put an end to the incessant attacks and harassment of students by herdsmen.
As of the time of filing this report, the protest by the students was still on, while security agents have been drafted to the institution to prevent the situation from escalating.
The Public Relations Officer of the University, John Adams confirmed the development to our correspondent in Jos on Monday.
He said “As I speak with you, we have been blocked from entering the school because of the students’ protest but what I can tell you is that some armed people entered the school last night to disturb the peace in the institution.
“One student was shot and the students were not happy over the situation. I will give you the details when we are allowed to gain access to the school.” – Punch
VC calls for calm
Meanwhile Yohanna Izam, Vice Chancellor of the University, has called for calm among fear-stricken students after attackers invaded a hostel and killed a student.
The attackers, who invaded the school Sunday night, also left another student with gun shot wounds.
“It is a very shocking incident; very devastating. Everyone here is shocked by this inexplicable attack,” Izam said.
“The university community is deeply touched by this act of man’s inhumanity to man. We sincerely extend our deepest sympathy to the parents of the deceased,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor appealed for cooperation and collaboration with personnel of the military Special Task Force that had been invited to review the situation and identify the perpetrators of the crime.
“We must support the military personnel deployed to track down the killers. We do not want this incident to repeat itself,” Izam said.
Unidentified gunmen had killed one Sheni Kimati, a 25-year-old 200 level student of the Department of Geography.
According to Mr Terna Tyopev, the Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in Plateau, the gunmen hit the school “at about 11 p.m. on Sunday”.
“Kimati, who was shot by the attackers, was later confirmed dead at the Cottage Hospital, Bokkos,” Tyopev had said.
Tyopev said that no suspect had yet been arrested in connection with the attack, and called on those with useful information to avail it to the security agencies.
The spokesman said that students of the institution had staged a protest on Monday morning to express their displeasure over the incident, adding, however, that personnel of the command were able to restore normalcy to the university community. NAN