Fear grips TSU students as criminal burgles popular shop at Bakasi
By sesugh Abaya
Fear of unknown and ‘who may be the next victim’ has enveloped Students of Taraba State University (TSU) Jalingo, as yet to be identified criminal in the late hours of Monday, burgled a popular retail shop belonging to one Mr. Zira, who resides at students area fondly called Bakasi, located closely outside the fence of the school.
The unknown criminal, according to sources, came behind the shop around 3:45am and was mischievously perforating the retail shop from behind.
“He sat down and was breaking the shop. Unfortunately for him, it was the exalt time we were out from a friend’s house. We saw him sitting down behind the shop and we demanded to know what he was doing there. He quickly answered in Hausa language, “ina bayangeri ” meaning he was defecating.
“We were not satisfied with his answer and so we made our way towards him. When he he saw that we were advancing in a manner we would discover his mischievous act, he abandoned his purported defecation and started running.
“With this we discovered he was a criminal and we swiftly moved after him shouting ‘barao!, barao!! barao!!.( Thief!, thief!!, thief!!!)’.
“Out of fear, he abandoned some of the item he had moved from the shop including cartons of indomie noddles, tin milks, bonvitas, maggi sachets, spaghetti, a gas cylinder and other items of similar kind”. One of the youths who went after the criminal narrated.
A students residing in the area who does not want his name in print said, the unsuspected criminal was threatening youths with a knife as they courageously went after him.
He added that even when they succeeded stopping him from moving all the items he had packed from the shop and packaged, he tried by all means to gain victory over the gas cylinder but unfortunately lost his grip over its handle as the “barawo barawo shout” persisted.
Some of the residents who saw the items recovered from the unsuspected criminal which were well packaged into a 50kg bags, testified that he must had been really a strong man to have presumed carrying by himself all the goods he looted from the shop.
The residents who expressed dismay over the unfortunate incident, suspected that the ugly act might be the hand work of a student who upon resumption was trying to stock his kitchen.
“This nonsense is handwork of a student who have just resumed. You know, some of them, their parents are yet to receive their salaries, so they are seriously in Quagmire as regard their survival, hence these ugly act”. The resident added.
He further stated that the area was not safe upon the return of students and advised that the people around should be vigilant and watch carefully over their belongings as anyone could be the next victim.
Meanwhile, most of the students, residing in the area who interacted with our reporter shortly after the incident, called on security agencies to beam their searchlight around the area to to protect their lives and property.
The students who expressed fear that most of those similar activities might continue to occur following the unpaid salaries by the government, especially the Taraba State Government, advised their colleagues to be their brothers’ keepers so that collectively they would fight the monster in the area.
