Angry Students block Major highway over abduction of colleagues by suspected gunmen
Students of the Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara State, have reportedly blocked the Zaria-Sokoto highway to protest the abduction of five of their colleagues.
It was gathered that the protest has left many motorists and passengers trapped and stranded on the highway.
Some of the persons affected by the traffic logjam tried to make the students see reason to give way, but they stood their ground.
According to the Daily Trust, the state has been under heavy reign of banditry in recent times.
On Monday, the bandits reportedly killed a medical doctor and abducted 10 people, including members of the slain doctor’s family in an attack on Jangebe community, Talata Mafara Local Government Area of the state.
Residents said the armed men stormed the community around 1am and began to fire shots from several directions.
Jangebe community has suffered series of abductions. From January to date, there have been at least four cases of bandits’ invasions of the community according to the residents.
In February 2021, more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted from a secondary school in the community.
In December 2022, the family members of a lawmaker representing Talata Mafara LGA were kidnapped in the community.
In the Monday’s attack, the criminals broke the wall of the doctor’s house to gain entrance. They reportedly shot him dead immediately they forced themselves into the house and took away his family members and some other residents in the neighborhood. They also burnt a military vehicle near the victim’s residence.
Twenty-four hours after that attack, Governor Dauda Lawal urged members of Zamfara State House of Assembly to collaborate with the executive in order to rescue the state from several years of decay.
“Zamfara is faced with serious challenges, ranging from insecurity to decay in the educational system, among other key issues of concern,” Lawal told members of the 7th House of Assembly after its inauguration on Tuesday.
Different efforts have been used to tackle insecurity in the state, including cutting off communication and blocking access of bandits to towns, but the problem has persisted.
