The dog that foiled mass killing by a female suicide bomber in Borno recently, will be bestowed with posthumous award by the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, NVMA.

Dr. Godwin Abonyi, President of the association, who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, said that the dog would be awarded on the World Veterinary Day, WVD, tomorrow.

Recall that the suicide bomber had, on April 2, attempted to enter into a wedding ceremony ground in Belbelu community, Jere Local Government Area, to detonate a bomb, but was attacked by the dog.



Dr. Abonyi described the dog, owned by Mr. Mallum, a school teacher, as gallant for dying in the
course of saving the lives of a large number of Nigerians from a suicide bomber.

A student of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Auwal Shehu, has been found dead in front of one of the school’s hostel.

A student of the polytechnic, who spoke to PUNCH Metro on condition of anonymity on Thursday, said the students woke up on Tuesday to find the victim lying lifeless in front of the boys’ hostel.

“We were confused to find the student’s dead body in front of the hostel. We did not know what killed him, but we reported the incident to the management,” he said.

Details of the cause of the student’s death appeared sketchy, but a source said the victim fell off the second floor of the hostel while reading in the night.

Another source, however, said the student slumped and died while returning to the hostel from one of the lecture rooms.

The Deputy Rector of the institution, Sanusi Gumau, confirmed the incident to our correspondent, but dispelled the report that the student fell off the second floor.


According to him, preliminary investigation showed no sign that the deceased fell off “a high-rise building”.

“I got a call from one of the school cadets at about 5.30am on Tuesday informing me that a student was found dead in front of the boys’ hostel.

“Our medical unit did a physical check on the student and confirmed that he had indeed died. There is no truth in the report that the student slumped and died while returning from class in the night. He also did not fall off any high-rise building. Physical check showed no sign of injury; nothing,” he said.

Gumau said the chief security officer of the school reported the incident at the Yelwa Police Division.

“The police took the corpse away to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, for an autopsy,” he added.

The deputy rector also said the family of the deceased had been contacted.


He added that the deceased was to sit for two papers in the ongoing exams on Tuesday before his untimely demise.

The Dean, Student Affairs, Clement Ezeaku, said Shehu (21) was a National Diploma II student of the Civil Engineering Department and hailed from Birnin Kudu, Jigawa State.

He said, “His roommates said he only told them that he was going out that (Monday) night. They said he didn’t tell them exactly where he was going to. Because of the exams going on in the school, students can move around anytime of the day.”

He said the cause of the death was not known because the parents of the deceased insisted that the corpse be released to them for burial.

The dean said a team comprising the school security men, members of the Student Union Government, Muslim Students Society, and his (Sheu’s) state association accompanied the corpse to Jigawa State.

Beggars turn prayer warriors

■ Ask God to punish their oppressors in Kaduna, Kano, slaughter ‘pregnant’ sheep

From Sola Ojo, Kaduna

Following the recent clamp down on street begging in Kaduna State, the blind among this category of vulnerable Nigerians have decided to take their case to God through the hosting of a special prayer session against their oppressor.

The prayer attended by hundreds of these disabled persons, including blind women and children, was organized under the auspice of Arewa Freedom of the Blind Association

The session was held at Darika Central Mosque, Ungwan Rimi, Kaduna, where they prayed God to touch the hearts of their oppressors in power and authority. Indeed, the prayer seemed to have been specially arranged as they were spotted slaughtering a “pregnant” sheep before the commencement of the prayers.

The group’s spokesman, Mukhtar Saleh, regretted that the people in power were oppressing their members, saying that the state government did not consider their condition before forcefully evacuating them from the streets where they beg for their daily bread.

He lamented that nobody wished to be blind in the first place, insisting that those who were not blind should therefore not maltreat those who were blind: “It was not because they or their relatives had sinned against God that they were made to suffer blindness. Their condition was willed by God Almighty, who created all men both male and female.”

The spokesman also criticized the unfair treatment meted out on their members in Kano State, whereby they were fined and punished for going out to look for their survival. He accused the state government of approving a fine of N30,000 for any physically challenged person found on the streets begging:

“A public spirited individual came out and vowed to pay these fines on their behalf and the government stopped asking for fines and adopted punishment as an alternative.”

He held that in Kaduna State, it was no longer news that their members and other physically challenged persons were being rounded up from the streets and bundled to camps, where they were abandoned in degradable conditions:

“The camp is there for you to confirm at Gazera Village, near Makarfi town in Makarfi Local Government Area. Almighty Allah, only You can fight for those that have no strength of their own. Help us and fight on our behalf.” They all chorused in one of their prayer sessions shortly before they dispersed.

However, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), in collaboration with other agencies including Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has been evacuating destitute for possible rehabilitation at Makarfi Destitute Camp.

The Commandant of the NSCDC, Modu Bunu, while briefing personnel of the command before their deployment, urged them to ensure high discipline, diligence and synergy in the discharge of their duties. He pointed out that the operatives alongside others are required to assist in evacuating destitute from the metropolis and convey them to Kakuri from where they will be moved to the camp.

He explained that the decision was taken during the state’s Security Council meetings held on March 7 and 14. He said it was resolved at both meetings that the NSCDC and the police should evacuate the destitute and keep them in their (Police) custody for onward transportation to the camp where state government had concluded arrangements for their feeding.