Bauchi state government has refuted the report published by a national daily (not Blueprint) on Tuesday which suggested that unknown gunmen had attacked the students of the A.D. Rufai College of Legal and Islamic Studies, Misau, on Monday night.
Speaking through the Commissioner of Education, Alhaji Ibrahim Aminu, the government said the story was “nothing but a rumour,” adding that it was, however, aware that there was an armed robbery incident in Misau local government area where hoodlums shot a commercial driver.
He said: “The story carried on the front page of the LEADERSHIP Newspapers that the A.D. Rufai College of Legal and Islamic Studies, Misau, was attacked is not true, but there was armed robbery on a route along Misau local government, but no student was touched please.”
The commissioner, who claimed that the state had been enjoying relative peace for a long time now, appealed to the students and all other institutions in the state to remain calm, stressing that government was committed to protecting the lives and property of the people.
He called on newsmen to always crosscheck their facts before going to press, pointing out that the media “can either make or mar the society because all and sundry rely on them for genuine information.”
When contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi state command, Muhammed Ladan, who also denied the story, said there was no attack on the college, but that they received a report that armed bandits had blocked a road in the town for the purpose of robbing motorists.
He said a joint team of the police and military on patrol at the area had responded immediately to the scene on receiving the information and repelled the hoodlums, adding that “I am not aware of any attack on the college or its students.”
