November 02, (THEWILL) – Armed men suspected to be bandits have attacked the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) Staff Quarters in Giri, FCT, and abducted six (6) persons including four members of staff of the institution.
THEWILL gathered that the Incident occured in the early hours of Tuesday (today) when the assailants invaded the school premises shooting sporadically before whisking the victims away to an unknown destination.
Among the six persons abducted is Prof. Bassey Ubom, his son and a daughter.
Others are Prof. Obanza, Malam Sambo Mohammed and Dr Tobit.
The Vice Chancellor of the University Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, who confirmed the incident, has asked members of the public to pray hard for God’s intervention.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Na’Allah said the school authority will continue to mobilise everything within its means to guarantee the protection of staff and students and ensure the infraction never happens again.
“They brought their devastation to our Giri Quarters and we are pursuing them with all it takes to recover our dearest ones they kidnapped. Our nation is definitely bleeding and this is too close home for us！
“Please pray hard for God’s intervention. One thing is certain, we shall continue to mobilize everything available to us to protect staff and students and ensure this never happens again”, he said.
The university said, as part of security measures, it is now mandatory for all staff and students to wear their official identity cards when entering any of the university’s campuses, including the Giri Quarters.
“The Safety Unit has my instruction to turn anyone back who cannot explain their mission on our campus, Quarters or any UniAbuja branches even if they claim to be staff or students, only University ID card worn on them is a guarantee for entry. We shall overcome!”, Na’Allah said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adeh, in a statement on Tuesday morn, said, the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Babaji Sunday had dispatched additional tactical and conventional policing resources to the university’s main and satellite campuses, as well as the staff quarters and other affiliate formations of the university, “to fortify security, improve public safety and protect citizens in and around the university community.
“The CP gave the order following a report that some yet to be identified armed criminals invaded the UNIABUJA Staff Quarters located at the GIRI area of the FCT in the early hours of today, 2nd November, 2021.
“The CP noted that a combined team of the Police and personnel of the Nigerian Army 176 Guards Battalion were swiftly mobilized to the area to protect the citizens.
“Preliminary investigations however revealed that six (6) persons were allegedly abducted into the forest by the criminals on sighting the security operatives.
“The CP, while calling for calm, further noted that the security forces are already working with the locals in the area toward rescuing the victims. He assured that the perpetrators would be arrested and brought to book.
“On this note, the Command pledges its undeterred resolve to ensure lives and properties of residents within the FCT are protected and urge them to report all suspicious movements, emergency or distress, through these numbers: 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883”.
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