SPECIAL REPORT: SECURITY FORLORN AT SOKOTO VARSITY
Taoheed A. Adegbite reports
Students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto have expressed displeasure over the security blues in the school. Most of the students sleep with their eyes widely open in their various halls of residence. In fact, many students have little or no confidence in the school’s security officers for, their lives and properties are not properly secured.
There have been aversive cases of thefts, hostel bugling and walk way ambush in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, THE NEWS DIGEST gathered.
Findings by our reporter revealed that, the thievery attacks are mostly from the errand boys who have grown overtime to become notorious thieves on the campus. However, students prefer to take laws into their hands to handling the culprits to the security agency of the school.
Abdulhamid Abdulqudus, a 200 Level student of Literature revealed his ordeal about the school security challenges.
“The way thieves operates this days is aggravating and annoying. Even, yesterday, my bag containing my clothes, wallet and I.D cards was stolen,” he cried out.
Tawfeeq Alao, a 100 Level student of Medicine and Surgery lamented bitterly while he also narrated his own ordeal. “A week after my Android phone was stolen from our room. I borrowed a small Nokia phone from my friend, but no sooner than I got the phone that it was stolen again,” he told THE NEWS DIGEST.
In an interview with the Deputy Security Officer, Mr Ishaya koba, he claimed that the Security Agency is most concerned about the students. He added that students defaulters and culprits of theft are properly dealt with by the school security unit.
Speaking on the security challenges facing the university, Mr.koba affirmed that the University is facing a lot of challenges, owing the fact the security unit lacks enough personnel.
“We have shortage of security personnel. In fact, some of our men are supposed to have retired, while some security men employed on contract basis,” he told THE NEWS DIGEST. “The management knows best why they haven’t ordered for more security personnel,” he added.
Findings by THE NEWS DIGEST revealed that many of the said security personnel are too old for the job.
Our reporter met with one of the out-of-age security men, Umar Bello Bese, who works in the security unit of the school. “I am just 62 years old and I have spent 25 years on this campus as a security man,” he said.
Mr Besse also complained about the lack security personnel in the school, adding that more security attention is needed.
On his part, the Dean of Student’s Affairs suggested that the students should always be properly informed about theft cases, rather than treating them with feeding the students back.
Prof Mode however said that he is not aware of the lack of personnel in the security unit of the school.
” I am not aware of that, only the CSO could say whether they lack personnel or not,” he said.