The
University of Jos has been closed down after a protest by students over
hike in fees turned bloody, with security officials called in to
restore order shooting at least eight students.
A statement,
Tuesday, by the University Registrar Jully Dandam, after a hurriedly
convened management meeting, said the institution would remain shut
“till further notice”.
The statement ordered
all students to vacate campus before 2 p.m. on Tuesday as a way of
halting the violence and stopping the crisis from spreading to other
parts of the state.
The protest by the students, which began on
Monday, deteriorated on the second day, with security operatives firing
at students.
Witnesses said as the protest continued, a soldier
attached to the Special Taskforce on Jos crisis (STF) opened fire on
protesters at the Bauchi Road campus of the university, shooting several
of them, including a blind student.
However, a spokesperson for
the Special Taskforce (STF), Ikedichi Iweha, a Captain, in a telephone
interview, said only four students had gunshot wounds, but denied that
they were not shot by soldiers.
According to him, the bullets used in shooting the students were not the type the Special Taskforce uses.
He suggested the shooting could have been done by other sister security agencies deployed to the scene of the protest.
Mr.
Iweha also claimed that the wounds on the students were minor, and that
they were treated at the Task Force’s clinic and discharged.
The STF spokesman claimed the protesting students injured five soldiers who tried to disperse them.
The
students had on Monday began protesting increments in development levy
of N10,000 for all students, and acceptance fee of N25,000 for freshers.
The protest continued on Tuesday with students barricading the Bauchi Road campus and hindering free flow of traffic.
The
protest by the students heightened tension within the Plateau State
capital, Jos, as businesses around Bauchi Road, Faringada, part of
Katako, Nasarawa Gwom as well as Terminus Market closed early, fearing
the protest might turn violent.
Credit: Andrew Ajijah/PremiumTimes
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