The Federal University of Technology, FUT, Minna, Niger State, has announced a coordinated security response and a major hostel expansion following Tuesday’s protest by students over recurring security challenges in communities surrounding the Gidan Kwano campus.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Faruk Adamu Kuta, disclosed the measures in an interview monitored on Capacity Media Trust Radio in Minna, assuring students and parents that the university was working with security agencies and host communities to end the attacks.
Kuta clarified that the incidents occurred in neighbouring communities where many students reside, not within the university.
“Our campus is secure. The issue is with the villages and communities around the campus where many of our students reside,” he said.
Kuta said the university had earlier convened a security meeting involving the Divisional Police Officers of Bosso, Kpakungu and Gidan Kwano, the university’s Chief Security Officer, principal officers and community leaders to review the situation.
According to him, another attack on a private student lodge after the meeting triggered Tuesday’s protest.
He said he later met with the protesting students and held another meeting with security agencies and community representatives to strengthen the response.
The Vice-Chancellor added that local vigilante groups have been drafted to support the Nigeria Police Force in securing the affected communities.
“We have marshalled our strategy, and by the grace of God, with the support of all stakeholders, this will not happen again,” Kuta said.
He also announced that the university is fast-tracking the construction of about 2,000 additional bed spaces through private developers, with at least 1,000 expected to be ready before the end of the year.
Kuta said the university currently has just over 5,000 bed spaces and is also engaging the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement to further expand student accommodation.