Some gunmen have infiltrated the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria’s staff quarters, abducting Dr. Bako, a professor at the Department of Physiology.

Confirming the incident, the university’s Director of Public Affairs, Auwalu Umar, in a statement on Monday, the gunmen invaded the residence of the professor at about 12:50am.

According to the statement, the gunmen whisked the lecturer away, including his wife and daughter.

The statement read: “The University Division quickly informed the operatives of the Police Intelligence Response Team that advanced to the scene, following a distress call.

“There was an exchange of fire between the kidnappers and the mobile police operatives. When it was clear that they would be overpowered, the kidnappers ran into the bush along with the victims.

“As the police went after them up to Sasuwar Da’a village bordering the University, the kidnappers then released the wife and the daughter and went away with the husband. Some empty shells were recovered from the scene.”

Earlier this month, the Northern Governors’ Forum hosted northern political and traditional leaders including the Senate President, ministers and the chairmen of Northern State Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto.

They dedicated more than half of their 20-paragraph communique to condemning the #EndSARS protests, praising the government for its use of live bullets against unarmed protesters and calling for censoring the social media

This speaks volumes on their priorities: they are more perturbed by well-founded protests against police brutality and Nigerians’ freedom of expression than the wanton destruction of the lives and livelihoods of their supposed constituents.That is because the former threatens their power and wealth while the latter affects ordinary northerners whose lives are worth nothing in their eyes.

But the facts and data don’t lie.They show that the bandits continue to get more lethal and sophisticated by the day.They have raised and continue to launder huge sums from ransoms which they use to stockpile weapons and supplies; they have effectively taken control of swathes of land in the northwest where they levy taxes and impose their law(lessness).

Our political leaders are more concerned with their personal parochial interests; our emirs, imams, and intellectuals are silent; most of our youths are uneducated and many of those educated have been brainwashed, blackmailed or bullied into acquiescence. In this perfect conspiracy of silence, who will rescue the north from its dangerous descend?