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Some
of the victims of the killings that took place in Mubi, Adamawa on
Monday died on Wednesday. An unnamed official of the Federal
Polytechnic, Mubi, who spoke to the Agence-France Presse on Wednesday said the victims died in the hospital. Yet-to-be-identified gunmen had launched a night attack on a hostel.
“This is a sad moment for our school;
the gunmen shot and killed at least 40 of our students. More of the
injured that were rushed to the hospital have died,” an unofficial
source in the school said.
The official spoke even as reports of the killings sparked nationwide outrage and the death toll rose to 40.
Senators, at plenary in Abuja spoke
with anger and charged the President Goodluck Jonathan administration
to quickly arrest the perpetrators of the Mubi killings and bring the
general insecurity in the country to a halt.
They described the Mubi incident as unacceptable.
Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in her
contribution, said it was high time the lawmakers passed a vote of no
confidence on the Federal Government.
“We are a nation under siege; even under
the Abacha regime, it was not as bad as this. To me, I think it is
high time we passed a no confidence vote on this government,” Tinubu
said.
Police arrest ‘many’ suspects
Also on Wednesday, the police said they had made arrests in connection with the Monday night killings.
“We have made several arrests. In fact, we have arrested many suspects in connection with the killings,” AFP quoted the spokesman for police in the state, Mohammed Ibrahim, as saying.
But an unnamed school official said most of those arrested were students, including those seeking to flee Mubi.
Reports from Adamawa on Wednesday
however indicated that soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force had
launched a door-to-door search of many homes in the town to fish out
the killers who at about midnight on Monday swooped on the off-campus
hostel and killed the students.
The gunmen reportedly arrived the
hostel with a hit list from which they called out the names of their
targets. On identifying a target, the killers would either shoot at very
close range or kill with a knife.
“The military is going house to house searching,” head of the Red Cross in Adamawa State, Abubakar Ahmed, told Reuters.
The PUNCH learnt on Wednesday the suspects the police claimed to have arrested were caught in the cause of the search.
Election dispute theory
The PUNCH, however, learnt
that police investigators were already on the track of leaders of the
Polytechnic’s Students Union Government. The policemen are working on
the theory that the killings resulted from a disputed students union
government elections last Saturday.
Commissioner of Police in the state,
Godfrey Okeke, on Wednesday told one of our correspondents on the
telephone that his men had commenced investigation into the killings and
that the authorities of the school had been cooperating with the
command.
Okeke said the police would interrogate student leaders and individuals that participated in the SUG elections.
“Though the school has been closed
because of the incident, we will interrogate student union leaders and
anyone that could assist our investigations. It is going to be a wide
angle investigation; we will explore every angles and links. The school
authorities are cooperating with us; some of their administrative staff
have been with us since morning,“ the police boss explained.
He also told Reuters that “relatives of
the slain students said the assailants called their names out before
they killing them. The majority were killed with gun shots or
slaughtered.”
Arrest killers – Jonathan
But Jonathan ordered on Wednesday that security agencies should promptly arrest the killers of the students.
The President, after he was briefed by
the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, at the Federal
Executive Council meeting, directed that security agencies should leave
no stone unturned to ensure that the killers were nabbed and brought to
book.
Briefing State House correspondents at
the end of the FEC meeting, Special Adviser to the President on Media
and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan was saddened by the
incident.
“The President described the incident as
tragic, sad and shocking. He has directed security agencies to
investigate the matter and get to the root because this kind of incident
where people are called out and shot is really shocking,” the
presidential spokesman said.
Killings unacceptable –Senators
Senators, at their plenary on Wednesday,
said the Mubi massacre was unacceptable and tasked the Jonathan
administration to quickly find and punish the perpetrators.
While debating a motion sponsored by Senator Bindo Jibrila, the lawamakers took turns to condemn the crime.
President of the Senate, David Mark,
said governments at all levels had the responsibility to protect the
lives and property of citizens. He added that there was no
justification for the killings.
Mark said, “Every state government has
responsibility; people are not killing in Norway because of
unemployment. We have to tackle these specific killing of people.
“This is totally unacceptable. Those involved in this killing must be arrested and be brought to book.
“This is an opportunity to test capital
punishment in our law as quickly as possible. I think these are very
serious security challenges and we should go headway to tackle them.”
Mark’s deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, said the killings represented a sad day for the country.
“It is a sign of the inability of the
system to provide security to our people. It is painful that some people
are still playing politics with the lives of our people. This calls for
alternative solutions to the problems,” Ekweremadu said.
In his contribution, Senator Olubunmi
Adetumbi said, “What has happened in Mubi is a destruction of our
future. When young men die for no reason, it is a food for thought.
Power is supposed to deliver security and safety and these are areas
where this government has consistently failed.
“Everyone sitting here today is a
parent, there is palpable fear everywhere. Emirs have been attacked,
churches have been attacked and we say the future of Nigeria is in the
hands of these young Nigerians.
“The question we should ask ourselves is: is Nigeria really standing or failing?
“This is a country where the
constitution is no longer applicable. This is a first sign of collapse.
As a parliament, we must be concerned; we must be worried and be
disturbed that something is really wrong with this country.”
Senator Barnabas Gemade challenged the
government to move into action and deal more seriously with the security
problem in the country.
He said, “It looks like there is an orchestrated programme to destabilise the foundation of the economy of the North-East .
“Maiduguri and Mubi are centres for
international trade in this part of the country. Our law enforcement
agents should be able to ensure that this kind of thing does not
happen.”
However, Senator Abdul Ningi said while
he joined others in condemning the attacks, he did not share the
sentiment that the incident was a failure of security.
He said, “Let me differ with them in
blaming the security for the incident. I believe that this is a complete
absence of leadership when people who are not supposed to be in
government suddenly found themselves in governance.
“Democracy in Nigeria has only ushered
in election, not responsibility and accountability. Over a year ago,
when this incident started, how many people have been convicted?
“All we hear is arrest and arrest, if
you know the work of security agencies in Kaduna, Kano, Maduguri and
others. Those who are to be blamed are the political class; I mean all
of us who have not been able to move beyond tribal politics.”
NANS gives ultimatum
Meanwhile, the National Association of
Nigerian Students on Wednesday declared a three-day national mourning
and gave the Adamawa State Government seven days within which it must
fish out the killers of the students.
National President of NANS, Mr. Mohammed
Dauda, in a statement in Jos said, “We are categorically demanding an
immediate probe into the circumstances surrounding the attack while
giving a seven-day ultimatum to the Adamawa State Government to fish out
the perpetrators of the heinous crime.”
NANS said the attack was “unprecedented and is not only cruel, but extremely barbaric.”
ACF reacts
The Arewa Consultative Forum, in a
statement by its National Publicity Secretary,. Anthony Sani, described
the killing of the students as shocking to all lovers of peace and
humanity
The ACF said, “The news of the attack
and killing of some innocent 25 students of Federal Polytechnic, Mubi,
is very shocking to all lovers of peace, humanity and sanctity of life.
This is because the students could not possibly be part of what might
have caused any perceived grievances. The attacks are, therefore,
condemned as barbaric for what they are.
“Towards that end, Arewa Consultative
Forum appeals to the security agencies and to all Nigerians, especially
those around Mubi Local Government Area, with patriotic courage to go as
far as efforts can go and fish out the perpetrators of the abominable
attacks and bring them to justice as deterrence against any future
occurrence.”
