The University of Jos chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has said that the institution was under siege with staff and students killed on regular basis.
Dr. Lazarus Maigoro, the chairman, who briefed newsmen on Thursday in Jos, said that the fear-stricken students and staff were always scared of the unknown while in the classes or at their residences
“Everyday, when we leave our homes to come and discharge our duties, there is no guarantee that we will go back home alive. We make bold to say that the University of Jos has not known peace since the first major crisis that hit Plateau on Sept. 7, 2001.
“That particular crisis, and subsequent ones, claimed the lives and property of staff and students. The recent violence, which hit most parts of Jos town, claimed the lives of two students and one member of staff.
“The violence before it claimed the lives of 11 members of the family of a member of staff when his residence was attacked by gunmen. As we speak, one student is still missing while another one is in the hospital nursing a bullet wound.
“Staff and students of the institution have become major targets of hoodlums within and outside the university campus,” he said.
Maigoro said that as a result of inadequate infrastructure and multi-campus nature operated by the university, many members of staff and students live off campus, making them always vulnerable.
“Living in scattered directions make us vulnerable to attacks while going to, or returning from, work or school because the institution is surrounded by violent-prone communities,” he explained.
The union demanded immediate reclamation of all lands belonging to the institution which had been encroached upon illegally on different fronts.
It also challenged security agencies to identify the killers of the students and staff so as to bring them to justice, and called for the creation of a permanent buffer zones around the university to guarantee security of members of its community.
The lecturers also called for the strengthening of the internal security apparatus within the institution for improved efficiency during crisis, and advocated a Special Intervention Fund to erect a perimeter fence around the entire land mass belonging to school.
They also called for the provision of a Special Intervention Fund for the construction of more hostels and staff quarters to reduce the number of those living outside the campus.
The union also called for the creation of alternative routes on campus to aid escape to safety during emergencies.
It also called for an immediate end to the grazing of cattle on the campus, saying that the menace was distracting academic activities and causing lots of anxiety among members of the university community.
ASUU also appealed to the Federal Government to release immediately, the outstanding take-off grant due to the university since its creation more than 40 years ago.
“The release of the grant will facilitate the development of needed infrastructure to bring University of Jos at par with other second generation universities in the country,” the ASUU chairman said. (NAN)
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