ATBU Incident: No Student Still Missing, Says University

The Management of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, has declared that none of its students is still missing following the collapse of a bridge in the institution.

This is contrary to reports in some media that students were still missing.

It would be recalled that four students died while seven were injured when a metallic bridge linking the student’s hostel and the lecture halls collapsed on Monday night at about 11.45p.m after a heavy downpour that lasted for several hours.

However, the University’s Vice Chancellor, Muhammad Abdullazeez, stated that only three students died in the incident when Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Muhammed, paid him a condolence visit yesterday.

According to Abdullazeez: ”The management felt that it was necessary to construct a metal bridge can carry between 10 to15 people at a time. This is not meant for static loads but for dynamic loads, which means you don’t stand on it, you just pass.

“But the report we received showed that more than 30 students converged on the bridge to take selfies. But the bridge suddenly collapsed and that was how we lost three students.

“Based on our records, no student is missing for now. Of the three students that have been confirmed dead, two were from Kogi State while one was from Benue State made up of two females and a male. They were all from the Department of Business Education and Management Studies.”