University of Abuja Vice Chancellor, Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah on Tuesday said “Our Nation is definitely bleeding” and this is too close home for us.
He called on the University community to pray hard for God’s intervention and the release of the kidnapped victims, while assuring they shall continue to mobilize everything available to protect staff and students and ensure this never happen again.
He made this known while reacting to gunmen invasion of UNIABUJA staff quarters were they abducted a professor, his children, three others.
According to him; “They brought their devastation to our Giri Quarters and we are pursuing them with all it takes to recover our dearest ones they kidnapped.
“From now on, it is compulsory for staff and students to wear their official UmiAbuja ID cards when entering ANY of our 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 quaranty for entry”, he said.
Similarly, the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, CP Babaji Sunday has reassured residents of the FCT of safety and protection of lives and property.
He said that the command has dispatched additional tactical and conventional policing resources to the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) 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 in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adeh ANIPR hinted 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.
It would be recalled that gunmen on Tuesday morning stormed the staff quarters of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) and abducted a professor of economics, Obansa Joseph, two of his children, and other people.
A resident said the gunmen invaded the senior staff quarters at Giri in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at 1 a.m on Tuesday and operated for about an hour.
