Bandits have killed a lecturer with the Federal University Dutsinma in Katsina State.
The lecturer, Dr. Tiri Gyan David, was killed in a fresh bandit attack in the early hours of Tuesday.
He was the Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension, and Rural Development at the university.
A witness said that the incident occurred at about 1:30 am at the lecturer’s residence in the Yarima Quarters, Low-Cost Estate, Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina State.
He added that the bandits invaded the community with sophisticated weapons, shooting sporadically to scare the residents.
According to him, the hoodlums also abducted two of the lecturer’s children.
The Katsina Police Command spokesman, Abubakar Sadiq, confirmed the incident but said the command will soon release a detailed statement about it.
The FUDMA Public Relations Officer is yet to respond to phone calls put through to him; however, some staff of the university also confirmed the incident.
Some shared the incident on their social media handles. Several students also took to social media to mourn the deceased.
“What tragic news. Bandits killed Dr. Tiri and kidnapped his family. He was the last person to call me yesterday about issues in his faculty at 11:30pm. We were supposed to meet today at 8 AM in my office.
“The university and Dutsinma communities are deeply affected by this loss,” said Ahmed Jafar Waziri:
The President National Association of Agricultural Students, FUDMA Chapter, Yahaya Salisu Aba, in a condolence message shared on Facebook stated in part, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our beloved father, mentor, and role model in person Of Dr Tiri Gyana, of the Department of Agricultural Economics.
“We know that no words can truly express the grief and sorrow you are feeling right now. But the entire FOA and NAAS FUDMA Chapter wants you to know that we are here for you and care about you for this great loss.
“We have lost someone special, and we are truly sorry for the loss. Dr Tiri was a special person, jovial, gentle to the faculty and we pray his light will always shine on, to the family, you are not alone and we all care about you deeply.”
Dutsinma is among the 10 security frontline local government areas grappling with frequent bandit attacks almost daily despite efforts by both the state government and security agencies to restore peace in the state..