Operatives of Bauchi State Police Command have arrested a 22-yr-old Musa Bala, a resident of Lushi, for allegedly leading an armed robbery attack on students of Federal Polytechnic Bauchi where several students sustained injuries.
Prior to his arrest, Bala, an ex-convict has served two years at a correctional facility after he was found guilty of a similar offense and only completed his jail terms about three months earlier.
Arrested along with Bala include a 20-year-old Mansur Yakubu, and Abbas Auwal, also 20, all residents of Lushi, a a suburb of Bauchi metropolis.
Spokesperson of Bauchi Police Command, CSP Ahmed Wakil also revealed that 36 male and 12 female students were apprehended for alleged involvement in the violent protest that erupted on the campus after the robbery.
He explained that during interrogation, the three prime suspects confessed to collaborating with at least 13 other accomplices, including one “Daddy” of Birshin Fulani, who was believed to be the mastermind of the robbery.
“They admitted to planning and launching the attack from Birshin Fulani before targeting the students’ hostels,” he said.
Wakil said the Commissioner of Police, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu has ordered a discreet investigation into the robbery and subsequent students’ unrest.
He said the commissioner also directed the release of all female detainees, while male students will be screened and those found innocent would be released on bail and others face prosecution.
The Command warned that while it respects the right to peaceful protest, it will decisively clamp down on any unlawful gatherings or acts capable of disrupting public order.
It would be recalled that armed robbery in their numbers breached the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi’s perimeter fence and stormed the male students’ hostel in the early hours of Monday, carting away phones, laptops, and other valuables.
Students who attempted to resist the attack sustained varying degrees of injuries from the assailants during the incident.
Tensions however flared when aggrieved students, decrying poor security and inadequate medical facilities in the polytechnic took to the Bauchi–Tafawa Balewa–Dass Highway in protest.
They demanded the management of the polytechnic to act swiftly and give them maximum security for effective learning.
The protest later snowballed into violence leading to burning of tyres, pelting vehicles with stones, and looting of shops.
