Following the recent killings in Plateau state some state governments have evacuated their students attending the University of Jos from the troubled state because of the proximity of the tertiary institution to where the attacks happened. The management of the institution had since shut it down.
The magazine earlier reported that some suspected gunmen, had on March Palm Sunday, March 29 attacked Angrwan Rukuba, Jos North, a community in the state killing at least 27 persons. The state government had quickly imposed curfew in the affected community, but no sooner than the curfew was lifted than the fresh killings occurred, causing people who fear for their lives to run for safety, particularly students attending University of Jos who have chosen to leave the besieged communities en masse.
According to sources who spoke with the magazine, some students of the institutions had written their various state governments to evacuate them from campus in order not to be caught up in the cross fire.
In the past one week, no fewer than five state governments have evacuated their students from the school to safety, the latest being Delta state which has successfully brought back its student to the state.
When receiving the 36 students, the State Director of Protocol, Chief Sunday Onoriode, said the state government decided to move the students from the institution due to their safety, and because the management of the school has shut it down.
He expressed hopes that the students will resume school after the crisis has been resolved by the government.
Onoriode: “We believe that with God, peace will be restored. When the time comes for you to return to school, you will go back and complete your studies successfully.”
Also, 37 students from Cross River State have been successfully evacuated from the campus.
Reacting on the issue, Governor Otu’s Special Assistant on Student Affairs, Joseph-Kelvin Enyam, disclosed this in a statement in Calabar, the state capital that the students were filled with fears before they were rescued. He said the state government acted after receiving Save our Soul, SOS, message from the students.
Enyam:“Their voices were filled with fear, and reports of insecurity, killings, and uncertainty had turned what should be a safe academic environment into a zone of anxiety and survival.
“Immediately, His Excellency, our compassionate Governor Bassey Out , upon being briefed, did not hesitate. He gave a firm directive: mobilise, deploy, and ensure the safe evacuation of every Cross River student back home until normalcy is restored.”
According to him, the state government have to comb every streets, house by house, around the campus under heavy security to ensure that no student was left behind.
“We moved into high-risk areas, including Angwa Rukuba, where a number of our students resided off campus. Street by street, house by house, we located them, reassured them, and safely evacuated them under security escort.”
Apart from Cross Rivers state, Benue state had earlier withdrawn its students attending the university. No fewer than 600 of its indigenes attending the institution were evacuated few days after the killings.
Similarly, Bauchi state sent its officials to move its indigenes out of the troubled state. According to information provided by the Governor Bala Mohammed-led state, 64 students of Bauchi state were evacuated from the tertiary institution.
Meanwhile, the magazine learned that other states have concluded plans to evacuate their indigenes from the school in the next few days to save them from being caught up in the crisis.
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