CITY NEWS UniAbuja students block Giri-Airport Police arrest car thief in road over colleague’s death Gwarinpa
Forum organises capacity building for FCT Imams
Students of the University of Abuja yesterday blocked the Giri-Airport road over the death of one of their colleagues that was run over by a hit- and -run motorist.
The students, in large numbers and carrying sticks and leaves, blocked the two lanes as they protested the killing of one of them on the road, while travellers were held in the ensuing gridlock.
Some motorists coming from both lanes were forced to make a u-turn, while passengers alighted from vehicles to take motorcycles An advocacy forum on true teaching of Islam, Kadaura Institute, in collaboration with the management of the Abuja National Mosque, has organised a two-day training for the Imams in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and environs.
The event which held at the conference hall of the National Mosque at the weekend, to their destinations.
A student, Shedrack Williams, said they decided to block the road in order to protest the killing of a female student of the university by a hit- and- run driver under the pedestrian bridge by the entrance of the university.
He said the deceased student, Simi Boye, had returned to the university at the weekend and alighted at the entrance, adding that some hoodlums accosted her to snatch her bag and while she tried to escape, an overspeeding vehicle ran over her on Sunday night.
He said the deceased, who was a 200 level student in the Faculty enlightened the Imams on mutual coexistence among the various religious faithful.
In his address, the executive secretary of the National Mosque, Alhaji Ibrahim Jega, called on the Imams to consult their followers before arriving at issues that guide their activities in order to make implementation easier.
While condemning the act of dictatorship and extremism among the leaders and the of Arts and Social Sciences, was taken to the university clinic where she was pronounced dead and her remains were deposited at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital morgue.
Also speaking to our reporter, the President of the Student Union Government (SUG), Comrade Abdulazeez Ajiboye, said the decision of the students to block the road was informed by the increasing rate of students that are killed by hit- and -run drivers.
He claimed that seven students of the institution have been killed by hit- and- run drivers at the main entrance of the university in recent times. followers alike, he said many have contradicted the true teaching of Islam and enjoined them to be accommodating, especially of those who are not Muslims.
A deputy Imam of the mosque, Dr. Muhammad Kabir Adam, advocated the use of social media platforms as a modern way of disseminating the true message of Islam while a former FCT minister Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, cautioned on
“We feel there is need to protest and block the road so that the authorities of the university will know what our colleagues have been passing through,” he said.
Meanwhile, the management of the university has promised to take proactive measures in securing the lives of its students. The vice chancellor, Professor Michael Adikwu, while addressing SUG leaders said the management will address the matter.
Adikwu, further assured the angry students that the institution would come up with solutions that would curtail recurrence of such incidents. the consumption of everything that comes out of the new media platform.
Certificates of attendance were presented to the participants by the former FCT minister, Dr. Modibbo, who chaired the occasion.
The forum drew its members from clerics, traditional leaders, and working class Muslims from both government and private sectors. The police in Gwarinpa have arrested a suspect who was trying to steal a about stealing an Infinity FX 35 Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) from where it was parked around Crushed Cafe, First Avenue.
Police sources said the suspect, identified only as Nuhu, was arrested while he and a gang of four others were trying to steal the vehicle after the driver had parked it and went into one of the malls in the area.
The source said the police were called after he was arrested by people in the area, adding that the police saved him from jungle justice.
The Gwarinpa Divisional Police Officer, CSP Nuruddeen Sabo, said the suspect confessed to the crime and revealed that he was a member of a gang which included a woman.
Sabo said the suspect revealed that the gang used a Benz SUV in trailing their victims before snatching their cars.
He said the suspect was cooperating with the police in their investigation in order to arrest the fleeing members of the gang.
In another case, CSP Sabo said the police recovered a Toyota Camry car that was stolen where it was parked at Setraco Area last Friday.
He said the vehicle was traced to an area in Lokogoma where it was recovered, adding that the vehicle would be handed over to the owner after showing necessary proof of ownership while the police are on the lookout for the thieves.