Metro

Fedpoly Bauchi Shut Down Over Violent Students Protest

Published

2 days ago

August 12, 2025

Editor

Fedpoly Bauchi shut down over violent students protest
The Management of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, has ordered the immediate and indefinite closure of the institution following a violent student protest in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that angry students of the institution embarked on a violent protest at about 10 am after an alleged midnight robbery at the male hostel.

The management announced the closure in a statement issued by the Registrar, Alhaji Kasimu Salihu, and made available to newsmen in Bauchi on Tuesday.

It stated: “The Management of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi has received the disturbing news of some unscrupulous elements who invaded the male students’ hostel, taking away their belongings and injuring two students.

“Consequent upon this sad development, students came out of the Polytechnic Main Gate to express their justifiable frustration, calling on management to act.

“While management acted immediately with all principal officers and management staff showing up to address the students and situation, it was established that hoodlums, who do not mean well for the students and institution, had taken over what was meant to be a peaceful protest.

“Against the background of this ugly situation, the management hereby orders the immediate closure of academic activities.”

The statement added that the students were given two hours to vacate the campus, effective immediately, until further notice.

Some of the students, who spoke on the condition of anonymity with reporters during the protest, said that the robbery occurred in the middle of the night.

They also said that the institution’s management had failed to provide adequate security.

One of the students, Ismail Abubakar, expressed frustration over the development.

Abubakar said that it was disturbing that “students are not safe off campus and on campus.

“They collected more than 50 phones during the robbery and wounded a couple of students with dangerous weapons”.

The Student Union Government President, Haruna Umar, who also condemned the attack, stated that it had never occurred in the history of the Polytechnic.

Meanwhile, the Bauchi Police Command says it has apprehended and detained three suspected members of the gang responsible for the robbery.

The command’s Spokesman, CSP Ahmed Wakili, confirmed the development in a statement issued via its online platform.

According to Wakili, the command “received intelligence through the Chief Security Officer (CSO) serving with the institution.

“The intelligence disclosed a security breach by unidentified hoodlums, who trespassed into the institution through the fenced wall and forcefully took the students’ phones.

“During the skirmishes, some of the students confronted the hoodlums, which resulted in various degrees of injuries to the students.

“On receipt of the report, teams of detectives attached to E’ Division, immediately despatched to the scene, conveyed the victims to the institution’s clinic for first aid,” the statement added.

It further disclosed that the command later dispatched a reinforcement team to the scene of the students’ protest to end the molestation of innocent people, breaking into and looting of shops and valuables.

Wakili explained that the operatives applied minimal force to disperse the illegal crowd after they encountered initial resistance.

He stated that the situation had been successfully brought under control, adding that 36 male and 12 female persons were being detained for alleged involvement in the protest.

He also stated that the three robbery suspects admitted during interrogation “that they criminally conspired, invaded the students’ hostels, threatened and forcefully dispossessed the students of their valuables, including phones and laptops.

“They also confessed to having inflicted various degrees of injuries on some of the students, who attempted to challenge them.”

Metro

Lagos Woman Remanded For False Foreign Currency Declaration

Published

8 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday remanded Ifunanya Phil-Olumba in the Kirikiri Correctional Centre over allegations of falsely declaring and failing to declare foreign currency totaling $14,567, £1,030, and CA$40 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had preferred three counts against the defendant, accusing her of making false declarations to the Nigeria Customs Service and failing to declare foreign currency, contrary to Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

At the resumed proceedings, before Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, the prosecution, led by Okezie Chineye, called two witnesses.

The first prosecution witness, an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mrs. Stella Ogar, told the court that the defendant was intercepted during inward clearance from the United Kingdom.

According to Ogar, the defendant declared only CA$4,000, despite allegedly being in possession of CA$14,000, alongside other undeclared sums.

“We arrested her and handed her over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation,” Ogar testified.

The second prosecution witness, an EFCC operative, Felicia Paul, confirmed that the defendant was handed over to the commission by the customs.

She stated that the defendant was interrogated and opted to make a written statement, which the prosecution sought to tender in evidence.

However, defence counsel, Edwin Anikwem, objected to the admissibility of the statement, contending that it was not obtained voluntarily and was made without the presence of counsel, contrary to legal requirements.

However, Justice Dipeolu adjourned further hearing to August 19 for continuation of the trial.

The EFCC alleged that on July 22, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, the defendant falsely declared the sum of $4,000 while in possession of $14,567; failed to declare CA$40; and falsely declared £1,000 while in possession of £1,030.

According to the anti-graft agency, the offences committed contravened Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Metro

Two Varsity Students Die In Bayelsa Road Crash

Published

10 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A head-on collision between a truck and a commercial tricycle on the Yenagoa/Amassoma Road, Bayelsa State, has claimed the lives of two students from Niger Delta University, Amassoma.

The accident which occurred on Wednesday also left other passengers of the ill-fated tricycle critically injured.

Residents attributed the accident to absence of road signs and overspending by drivers as the crash occurred at a bend on the road.

The truck negotiated the bend at high speed, lost control and hit the tricycle at top speed, crushing it.

A trader, Godspower Okilo told The PUNCH on Thursday that the truck driver was moving too fast, and by the time he realised the danger, it was already too late.

He said, “The Keke (tricycle) had no chance of escaping the danger because the tipper was already close to it.
“We’ve been complaining about reckless truck drivers on this road for years, but nothing changes.

“The dangerous impact left the tricycle damaged beyond recognition. Good Samaritans rushed to the scene, pulling survivors from the wreckage and transporting the injured to the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa.

“The bodies of the deceased were later evacuated to a nearby morgue.

“This incident has renewed calls for stricter traffic enforcement, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the State Police Command should intensify patrols, introduce speed breakers, and conduct regular safety checks on heavy-duty vehicles.”

Another resident of the area, Mrs. Ebike Ekain, said if the appropriate authorities do not act now, more lives will be lost to accidents in the nearest future.

The Yenagoa/Amassoma Road is without doubt the most dangerous road in Bayelsa State due to the number of accidents that occur every year.
The reconstruction of the stretch from the Etegwe Roundabout to Tombia Community resulted in several turns which motorists do not consider as they often drive at dangerous speeds.

The Federal Road Safety Commission usually dispatches an ambulance to the road which is stationed at Tombia Community and sometimes at the roundabout leading to Agudama-Ekpetiama Community.

Spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, DSP Musa Muhammad, who confirmed the accident, said investigation is ongoing to unravel the cause of the accident.

“Yes, an accident happened there and we are investigating the causes of the accident,” he stated.

Metro

OAU Medical Student Kills Self After Failing Exam Twice

Published

10 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has confirmed the death of a part-two medical student, Ajibola Ibitayo, who reportedly committed suicide.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, on Thursday, stated that the student with the matriculation number: DEN/2021/023), committed suicide after failing his examinations.

Olarewaju said the results of examinations were released on Wednesday and it would have required Ibitayo to repeat Part Two for the second time.

“The entire community of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has been thrown into mourning following the death of a Part Two student of the Faculty of Dentistry.

“The student, identified as Ajibola Ibitayo (Matriculation Number: DEN/2021/023), committed suicide after learning that the results of the last semester examinations, released yesterday, would require him to repeat Part Two for another academic year.

“He had already been repeating Part Two during the last session.

“The student, whose father is a medical doctor, reportedly injected himself at his parents’ home in Ejigbo, Osun State,” the statement read partly.

Saddened by the development, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Simeon Bamire, appealed to parents and guardians to instil in their children and wards the understanding that temporary setbacks in the pursuit of success are part of life and not the end of it.

Bamire also urged students and young people to view failure as an opportunity to redirect their paths toward success and greater achievements.

He prayed that God Almighty would grant the parents, family, Faculty, College of Health Sciences, and the University community the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.