ATBU Female Students Protest Insecurity After Hostel Robbery.

Female students of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, staged a peaceful protest on Monday, marching to the Senate Building to demand improved campus security following an armed robbery at their hostel in the early hours of Sunday. According to accounts from students, suspected robbers broke into several rooms in the female hostel and made away with valuables, including mobile phones, leaving many residents shaken and fearful of another attack. One of the affected students, Fauziyya Abdullahi, said the incident had heightened anxiety among students about their safety on campus. "Our main fear is if they come in here and march us out. We do not want to be another Chibok girls," she said, adding, "We do not want to be used for campaigns... We want to stay here and live our bright future." She also raised concerns about slow response times, saying students could not afford to wait 45 minutes for security personnel to arrive from town, and that a single security officer was not enough to protect the entire hostel. Another student, Rejoice Duke, described the attack in detail, saying the intruders entered the hostel at around 2 am and broke into multiple rooms. "Some guys came into the hostel and broke into different rooms. They were asking for your life or your phone. They were able to cart away valuables, including mobile phones," she said. Following the incident, the university's Vice-Chancellor, accompanied by members of the management team, visited the hostel and described the robbery as unfortunate. Speaking on behalf of the university, Head of the Directorate of Information, Zailani Bappah, assured students that the institution would review the situation and work to strengthen security surveillance on campus. The Bauchi State Police Command also responded to the incident. Command spokesperson Nafiu Habib confirmed that investigations were underway to identify, arrest, and prosecute those responsible, describing the effort as part of broader measures to sustain the Safe School Initiative. He disclosed that about eight rooms in the female hostel were burgled, with roughly 20 mobile phones of various types stolen.