Soldiers Open Fire On Spokesman of The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Professor Ango Abdullahi

Professor Abdullahi said he was on his way to the Bauchi State University, Gadau, for an official assignment when the soldiers attacked his car. The professor is the chairman of the Governing Council of the university.

He narrated what happened: “It was in the morning as I was travelling in my official car with my driver – I was going to Gadau for a meeting. We had just passed the Awala Hotel roundabout when I saw a military convoy moving very slowly.

“I was trying to catch up for the meeting, so my driver overtook the military convoy. The next thing I knew – they opened fire at us, with bullets spraying the car. The bullets damaged the engine of the car, damaged the car, so we had to park by the road side.

At this point, he said, the soldiers jumped out of their vehicles and charged towards him.

“The soldiers came out and were shouting angrily at us. They were demanding to know why we wanted to overtake them. Didn’t we know that the soldiers were exporting sensitive materials? That is how they just left us there and continued their movement. I had never seen such a reckless act,” he said.

Abdullahi said after this he put a phone call through to the commissioner for Higher Education who in turn called the chiefs of the security agencies to report the matter.

“The army later sent one captain who apologised and promised to investigate and know from which unit the soldiers are from,” he added.

When contacted, the brigade commander of the 33 Artillery Brigade, Ngo Sho, said he was not aware that a military convoy was passing through Bauchi, but he promised to investigate the incident and take necessary actions. He also offered apologises to the professor.

Meanwhile, the state commissioner for Higher Education, Ibrahim Haminu Mohammed, who confirmed the attack on Professor Abdullahi, said he was pleased with the quick response of the service chiefs immediately he informed them about the incident.

“They all apologized to the professor and he was happy at their response, but he was traumatised. His driver said a bullet nearly caught the professor because the bullet penetrated the door where he sat.

“The car was riddled with bullets, but, thank God, no one was hurt but the car was badly destroyed,” he said.

Last month, a professor of agronomy and the director, Institute for Agricultural Research, Professor Ahmad Mustapha Falaki, was allegedly killed by men of Nigeria Police in Kano State.

Consequently, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to sue the inspector-general of police over Falaki’s killing. (Leadership)