Barely seventy-two hours after the massacre of over thirty-five students of the Federal Polytechnic Mubi in rented residential quarters within Wuropatuji area of Mubi town in Adamawa state by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram, the Police in the state is yet to provide the required information to satisfy the curiosity and anxiety of the public.

The police public Relation Officer, Adamawa State Police Command, DSP Mohammed Ibrahim whose comment was sought told Pointblanknews.com that the Police couldn’t ascertain the exact number of victims and the number of arrests made so far.

“We are still investigating the killings. We can not tell the number of victims or arrests made but we intend to brief the press as soon as there is appreciable progress in the investigations“, he said.

Though there are conflicting reports on the number of victims and what could have precipitated the attack on the students and the neighbourhood, sources close to the polytechnic revealed to pointblanknews.com that the unidentified gunmen killed no fewer than fifty-two students including other residents within the neighbourhood.

Pointblanknews.com also learnt that the attack on the residents of Wuropatuji could have been a sharp reaction to an earlier raid on the camp of the suspected book haram group by the military/police joint task force team in Mubi town which led to the arrests of one hundred and fifty-nine suspects and the recovery of fire-arms, ammunitions and improvised explosive devices [IEDs] Further investigations revealed that the killers who attacked their victims between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. came in large number and moved in threes per group from door to door unleashing terror on their victims.

A student who narrowly escaped from the scene narrated “the gunmen were moving in threes with guns and matchets from one door to the other. When they knock at the door and you open up, they ask you what your name is to determine which side of the two religions you belong. If you claim to be a Muslim, then you must defend your Islamic status with the recitation of a portion of Quran. All identified non–Muslims were either shot or put to death by the sword instantly“.

Sources also alleged that the authorities of the polytechnic and the Mubi emirate council had prior to  the massacre received threat letters from the Boko Haram  group ordering the closure of all tertiary institutions in Mubi town. However, the two parties could not be reached for comments in the wake of the killings. Some of the residents who spoke on the accounts of anonymity said that what they can not explain is the occurrence of the sad event in the evening the same day the military patrolling the troubled area were ordered to leave by government adding that there were strong indications that some people including some of the students had prior knowledge of the attack.

Meanwhile the Adamawa state government has imposed a 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew in Mubi town until the security situation improves in Mubi town and its environs.

Source: Pointblanknews.