How Police Break Legs Of Two Protesting Students In Bauchi Polytechnic
Personnel of the Nigeria Police Force in Bauchi have reportedly arrested some students of the Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi during a protest.
They also allegedly broke the legs of two students.
Our correspondent learnt the students on Tuesday staged a protest at the school after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of academic and non-academic staff unions announced the commencement of a 12-day warning strike over several issues including nonpayment of staff salaries and delayed promotion.
One of the protesting students told the Media that the Rector of the school, Suleiman Lame, could not attend to them as he had been away from the school for three months following his pilgrimage to Mecca. He, however, added that the police operatives drafted to quell the protest broke the legs of two students.
The source added that the police officers went from house to house to arrest the protesting students, during which many of them were arrested while a lecturer identified as Sanusi Ibrahim from the School of General Studies was injured.
The source also alleged that the striking lecturers might have instigated the students to stage the protest.
“I saw the two students whose legs the police broke. I saw them myself. I was not told about it. The police officers also went from house to house arresting the students; many of them. I can’t say the exact number of students arrested but they will be almost 100 that were arrested and taken to the station.
“They also injured one lecturer, Sanusi Ibrahim from the School of General Studies. I saw him.
“When they started going from house to house to arrest the students, some of them were throwing stones at the policemen as they were running. I think the striking lecturers actually instigated the students to protest,” the source said.
Meanwhile, we earlier contacted the Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Mohammed Wakili who confirmed that police officers were deployed to the school. He, however, said he was not aware of the arrest of students or the injuries allegedly they reportedly sustained.
However, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ahmed Wakil, promised to confirm the report and get back to our reporter but had not done so at the time of filing this report.
