Again unknown gunmen attacked the University of Abuja, kidnapped people amongst whom were 2 of the university professors, lecturers and their family members in Abuja, Nigeria on November 2, 2021. Gunmen abducted six people early on November 2, 2021, from a university near the international airport serving Nigeria’s capital Abuja, police said.
The dawn attack at the staff quarters of the University of Abuja in Giri raised fears of safety around the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.
Two attacks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in the spate of 24 hours, there is tension following security reports of a planned strike by bandits and terrorists in the nation’s capital.
Security reports obtained by the military on Tuesday night indicated that attackers were planning to enter the FCT through the Abuja-Keffi Expressway and other entry points.
Acting on the intelligence, troops were placed on red alert and deployed to strategic locations, where they have mounted security checkpoints, to prevent and arrest any potential attacker.
The soldiers mounted roadblocks at all major entry and exit points into the FCT, conducting stop-and-search operations on suspected vehicles and passengers.
Motorists, especially those, who live along the Abuja-Keffi expressway in areas like Kugbo, Karu, Jikwoyi, Orozo, Karshi, Nyanya, Mararaba, One-man village, Masaka, among other satellite towns, were finding it difficult to navigate the routes as a result of checkpoints mounted by soldiers of the Guards Brigade, who are responsible for the security of the President, his immediate family, VIPs, as well as the FCT and its environs.
Military source, who pleaded for anonymity, said similar checkpoints have been mounted around Abaji, Zuba and Bwari areas to arrest suspects before they gain access into the capital city.
The source noted that while authorities are aware of the effect of the checkpoints on residents, motorists and other road users, the security of Abuja and residents was crucial. He, therefore, asked that members of the public bear with the temporary inconvenience.
Thousands of civil servants and artisans, who left their homes as early as 5:00 a.m., were stranded inside their vehicles till midday yesterday. The chaotic situation forced many people to abandon their vehicles and trek long kilometres to meet up with appointments.
Most of the commercial drivers lamented the sudden return of the military on the road and pleaded with government authorities to look into their plights. Expectedly, motorcyclists made brisk business charging as much as N1,000 to convey a passenger to Kugbo.
DESPITE the strict security measures mounted in the capital, unknown gunmen attacked a lecturer of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) on Wednesday morning, a day after some staff of the university were abducted.
The lecturer, identified as Dr David Okoroafor, was attacked in his office, at the university’s permanent site around 11:00 a.m. The victim, who escaped his attackers, disclosed the development in a message he sent to officials of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The message read: “Dear ASUU members and UNIABUJA community, I wish to formally bring to your notice that today, Wednesday, I was attacked in my office located at Room 6, 1st floor, Faculty of Social Science building, a permanent site.
“At exactly 10:00 a.m. when I arrived the building, opened my office and began to pray in my usual way, suddenly two men brandishing weapons bunched into the office and ordered me to lay down flat on my face or they blow me up. I pounced on them and the gun. But the duo started to hit me hard. I began to shout on the top of my voice for help.
“When my voice went higher, they ran out and students pursued after them. But when they brandished their gun, the students became afraid and ran back, giving them room to escape into the bush. But during the scuffle in my office, their car key fell off which I picked and handed over to the university security unit.”
Lolo Ijeoma Njoku Obinwannem News writer Nov 4, 2021
