The Greenfield University Disaster

The recent abduction of students of the Greenfield University, Kaduna, and the gruesome murder of five of the abducted students by their captors, have exposed the obvious vulnerability of the nation’s security architecture, writes John Shiklam

The remains of one of the five students of the Greenfield University, Kaduna, Dorathy Tirnom Yohanna, who were killed in captivity by bandits was laid to rest on Wednesday in Kaduna. Hundreds of people attended the funeral service held at the ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) Good News, Narayi High Cost, Kaduna, amid tears and anger over the unending security challenges occasioned by the invasion of communities and schools for abductions and ransom and now, killings.

Yohanna, alongside Precious Nwakacha and Sadiq Muazu were the first three of the five students killed in captivity on April 23, three days after their abduction. The other two were killed on April 26.
The killing of the students had attracted wide condemnation from across the country with Nigerians asking the federal government to live up to its responsibility of protecting lives and property of the citizenry.

On April 20, 2021, the bandits invaded Greenfield University, the only private tertiary institution operating in Kaduna and abducted yet to be disclosed number of students, although unofficial sources put the number of the kidnapped students at 23.

The gunmen in their numbers had invaded the school at about 8:30pm on April 20, shooting sporadically. One Paul Okafor, said to be a security guard in the university was killed by the bandits.
The university, which was established in 2019, is located in Kasarami community, Chikun Local Government Area of the state, off the Kaduna-Abuja highway, about 30 kilometres away from Kaduna city. The criminals were said to have taken advantage of the isolated location of the school and its porous surroundings as it has no perimeter fence.

Many communities along the Kaduna-Abuja road had been victims of banditry and kidnappings. Some of the villages have been sacked by the bandits while many villagers have relocated to other places as a result of persistent invasions and abductions by gunmen.

The bandits were said to have demanded for the sum of N800 million for the release of the students. However, three days later they killed three of the students. The corpses of the students were found in a village called Kwanar Bature, near the school.

Kaduna seemed to be under siege by bandits. Almost on a daily basis, communities are being invaded, people are either being killed or abducted for ransom and property are destroyed. Activities of thebandits are a great setback to the socio-economic activities in the state.

A similar incident had occurred on March 11, 2021, when bandits stormed the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna, located along airport road and abducted 39 students. Ten of the students were later released after N17 million was paid as ransom, according to sources among the parents.
The remaining 29 students are still in captivity. A video had surfaced on the social media on Tuesday, showing the 29 students begging their parents to pay the bandits so that they could be released.Despite agitations by the parents for the Kaduna State government to negotiate their release with the bandits, Governor Nasir el-Rufai has insisted that the state government would not negotiate with bandits nor pay ransom to them. He said the hoodlums were criminals, who were undermining the sovereignty of Nigeria and they must be completely wiped out.

The governor described the abduction of the university students as “sheer wickedness, inhumanity and an outright desecration of human lives by vile entities.”
The governor in a statement the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan said, “The bandits represent the worst of humankind and must be fought at all cost for the violent wickedness they represent, adding that “evil would not triumph over God-given humanity”.

Chairman of Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Joseph Hayab, also condemned the persistent attacks, killings and abductions in the state. He described the abductions and killing the students as “cruel and inhuman. It is barbaric and evil of the highest order to abduct people and kill them.”

El-Rufai said the reason the previous government did not go after bandits was because their children were not among those abducted by Boko Haram”.But Hayab noted that people were also accusing the governor of failing to go after the bandits for the same reason that his children were not involved.
At the funeral of Miss Yohanna on Wednesday, her father, Mr. Yohanna Meck, spoke in great pains. He wondered when the government will take the security of its citizens with the seriousness it deserves.
He said he was pained about the gruesome murder of his daughter by criminals, who appeared to be above the laws of the land, saying he “never believed the kidnappers would kill any of the students”.
He imagined how his daughter might have pleaded with the bandits to spare her life and eventually how they went ahead to still kill her.

“I can only imagine she was pleading with the gunmen when they were to hit her with the bullet and how they refused to hear her plea and still gunned her down. I could feel the pains in my veins; I could imagine the trauma!

“But I take solace in the word of the Lord, to give thanks to God in all situation. My dear lovely daughter, rest in the Lord. I am bidding you goodbye in pains, because I had not thought of burying my child or my younger ones. May we be comforted. Rest well, my daughter”, he said in tears.
Speaking further, he said his temperament did not allow him to speak with the kidnappers, who spoke with his wife while their daughter was in captivity. He said he was scared that his temperament might anger the bandits and they might hurt his daughter.

Several people, who spoke at the funeral said insecurity has destroyed the socio-economic activities of the country and called on government to take urgent steps to addressed the situation before bandits take over the country, calling for prayers and divine intervention in the challenges facing the country.
The management of the university had in a statement on April 24, by the registrar, Mr. Bashir Muhammad, said efforts were being made to secure the release of the abducted staff and students, lamenting that the efforts were not yielding the desired results.

He said, “a ransom of N800 million has been demanded for our abducted staff and students. We are at this point calling on the government and people of goodwill who can be of assistance to come to our aid as the situation is becoming overwhelming,” even as he appealed “to those in custody of staff and students to spare their lives.”