Police Invades NTA TV College In Jos, Arrests Students

Some students of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
Television College (TV COLLEGE) in Rayfield, Jos, the
Plateau State capital, escaped being shot by a team of
policemen and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps (NSCDC) during a pandemonium that followed a
protest at the Plateau State Government House.
There was pandemonium at the Nigerian Television
Authority (NTA) Television College (TV COLLEGE) in Jos,
Plateau State, last Thursday. Policemen attached to the
Government House in Rayfield went wild, firing gunshots
and teargas canisters indiscriminately as they chased
students into the college campus.
The students were on field practice when they ran into a
group of youths protesting the killing of Saf Ron Kulere of
Bokkos, Da Lazarus Agai, by unknown gunmen. The Bokkos
youths peacefully marched on the Government House, but
they were dispersed by a joint team of the Nigeria Security
and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and mobile policemen.
The students, who watched from a safe distance, saw the
youths’ protest as newsworthy and brought out their digital
cameras to record the scene. This did not go down well
with the security operatives, who ran after the students.
Sensing trouble, the students ran back to their campus, but
the security men chased them, firing guntshots and
teargas canisters.
At the college main gate, some of the students were
apprehended, maltreated and harassed by the rampaging
officers. Some had their digital cameras seized; others
were whisked away. When other students got wind of the
development, they mobilised to rescue their colleagues
from the officers. This, however, led to a confrontation. The
officers threatened to shoot any student who stood in their
way as they attempted to seize more cameras.
The students prevented the officers from maltreating their
colleagues, who went for field practice. This resulted in a
fracas. The officers fired more shots and teargas to
disperse the growing crowd of angry students. Some
students were injured in the ensuing chaos.
Uren Makut, a graduating student, escaped being shot when
she attempted to take pictures of students being
maltreated by the officers at the college gate. A policeman
pointed his gun at her as she ran away from the scene.
Reliving the incident, Uren said: “At the point I saw the
policeman moving close to me with his gun, I ran for my
life. I did not even care whether he would shoot me or not.
I only recalled there was heavy gunfire and I needed to be
safe. I was completely terrified. I saw death, but I cheated
it. Only a few people have come face-to-face with such
brutality and are still alive.”
The officers fired teargas canisters into the campus. The
students condemned the action, describing it as
“provocative attack” on the campus.
Uren added: “It is against the law to use force and lethal
weapon against peaceful protests. That should be the last
resort when protests become violent. But, the Bokos
youths’ protest was obviously peaceful. There was nothing
that would have warranted the officers to fire gunshots. We
tried to get pictures of how the youth were being
maltreated by the officers, but we ended up being
brutalised and chased like wild animals. This is
lawlessness.”
Masara Usman, a 300-Level student, who was manhandled
and had his digital camera seized by the officers, relived
his encounter. “While taking photographs from a corner, an
officer in mufti came and hit me on the face. I fell down.
The officer picked up my camera and attempted to smash
it. Some female students rushed and prevented the camera
from hitting the ground.
“I was brutalised. But the camera was released after the
intervention of the chairman of the Nigeria Union of
Journalists (NUJ) in Plateau State and the school
management. When I got it, vital photographs had been
deleted and the camera lens-cap holder was broken,” he
said.
Another student, Faruk Usman, explained how he escaped
from the scene. Faruk said: “I was standing at the school
gate when I heard gunshots. Then a teargas canister
landed in front of me. I alerted other students standing
close by. We saw students running towards the campus.
Then, we moved into the school, but some students were
caught and beaten by the police at the gate.
“When we cautioned the officers not to manhandle our
colleagues, one of them aimed his rifle at us and
threatened us. I remember telling one of the officers that
students should not be maltreated, but he threatened to
shoot me. As we ran away from the gate, the policemen
fired teargas at us. The officers came in a Hilux pickup.
They slapped a student, Paul Bot, who was standing in
front of the school gate. I learnt Paul has been complaining
of ear problem. The officers lacked manners and a sense
of decency,” Faruk said.
He added: “When the policeman aimed his rifle at me, two
things ran through my mind. The thought that he could fire
shots or he could not. I was not really standing up for
myself, but for the safety of other students. I was not
thinking of myself at that point in time.”
Paul Bot, a 200-Level student, said he was standing in
front of the school gate when he heard gunshots. “They
released teargas and it was affecting us inside the school,
because the campus is a stone throw from the
Government House. When the officers got to the gate, a
policeman charged towards me. His colleague, who was an
inspector, tried to restrain him, but the officer still came
forward and slapped me. I became unconscious and
students had to take me away just as the policeman was
also pushed away, by his superior. I did nothing wrong. I
had my identity card on my neck and was standing gently
at the college gate,” Paul explained.
The officer, who slapped Paul was identified as Isa and he
is said to be attached to the Government House.
One of the protesters, who simply gave his name as
Anthony, said the youths were on a peaceful demonstration
when the officers opened fire.
He said: “When we got to the Presidential Lodge axis of
the Government House, we were confronted by a group of
mobile policemen. We tried to explain the motive behind
the protest. Governor Simon Lalong came out, but refused
to address us when he saw the crowd. When the officers
saw the governor’s reaction, they concluded that we were
a group of thugs sponsored by a political party to cause
chaos. That was when the security operatives went wild,
beating some of us. The students were not part of the
protest, but they saw everything that happened and they
tried to film it. This is what led to the shooting.”
After the officers left the campus, students blocked the
road leading to the Government House, demanding the
release of their camera and other gadgets seized by the
officers.
Addressing the angry students, Head of Department of
Television Engineering Mr Titus Mazhinyi, pleaded for calm,
saying the school management was making efforts to
retrieve the seized gadgets. He also said the detained
students would be released.