The Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) in Katsina State has announced a one-week mid-semester break starting Monday.
University spokesman Habib Umar Aminu, in a statement, said the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Armaya’u Hamisu Bichi, communicated the Senate’s decision, instructing all students to leave the campus by 6pm on Monday.
The announcement follows a student protest on Sunday after a final-year agriculture student, Sai’d Abdulkadir, was reportedly shot and killed by members of a vigilante group.
The demonstration saw hundreds of students blocking a major road, demanding justice for their slain colleague.
Reports indicate that Abdulkadir was shot on Sunday evening when a commercial motorcyclist transporting him allegedly refused to stop at a checkpoint manned by vigilantes.
Outraged by the incident, students mobilised and blocked the Kankara-Dutsin-Ma-Katsina highway, setting tyres ablaze and calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
Security forces, including the military and police, intervened, using tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. However, students regrouped on Monday to continue their protest.
The Katsina State Police Command has launched an investigation into the killing. Meanwhile, students insist this is not the first time such incidents have occurred and are demanding an end to what they describe as ongoing extrajudicial killings in the area.
