By Habeeb Olokooba
From morning to twilight on Friday, Abdulrazaq Suleiman endured the weariness that comes with striving to withdraw cash from Automated Teller Machine(ATM) at the Guarantee Trust Bank branch in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
For the fear of being replaced by someone on the long queue where he cemented himself for over six hours, the 200-level student of the Arabic department missed his sunset prayer(Magrib).
Abdulrazaq stood frustratingly, fervently praying for his own turn, at least, to catch a glimpse of the ATM crowded with clusters of students all around. But the more Abdulrazaq tried to look at the ATM, the more it seemed to be running far away from him. So, he decided to leave for Ishai prayers.
Meanwhile, Abdulrazaq felt the need to empty his bladder before performing ablution. He scanned around the premises to find a spot. The environment is so open, he therefore decided to go to the gate painted with ash color beside the tap.
“I entered that ash gate beside the tap and I was still scanning around when a security man found me,”Abdulrazaq said.
“Without hearing from me, he slapped me on the right cheek. Before I could raise my face,
he hitted another slap on my left cheek.”
Abdulrazaq said the security officer declared him to be a thief, asking why he entered the place.
He said the man could not offer him a chance to express himself, as he grabbed his shirt and continued to nod at him.
“He also kept hitting me with his boot before I could manage to squizz myself out of the place to an open place.”
There was a moment of uproar in the scene, which resulted in the breaking of the bank’s windows glasses by students before the intervention of the police.
Abdulrazaq, an Unauthorized Person Enter to the Place_ Security Officer
Meanwhile, in an interview with a security officer in the bank who pleaded anonymity, told the New Digest Press that Abdulrazaq received the treatment because only authorized persons are allowed to enter the place.
He said,”It has been a long time since it’s been a prohibition to open that ash gate beside the tap by unauthorized persons. But the guy didn’t only open the gate, but also entered the premises.”
He also said that the bank called the police in order to suppress the uproar.
“The students started to cause commotion, they broke glasses and threatened to damage the bank property. And that was why we had to call the police.”