Eight students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and a driver have died in an auto crash in Jos the Plateau State capital.
According to reports, the students were returning from a ceremony when the accident occurred around 2am yesterday.
The Public Education Officer, state Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FSRC), Peter Longsan, in a statement said they received a distress call about 0230 hours yesterday on the crash that occurred opposite Unity Bank Zaria Road, Jos.
The crash involved two vehicles, a trailer and a bus. Eleven people were on board the bus, and were said to be students of UNIJOS.
The statement reads: “On arrival, seven people were suspected to be dead on the spot, as they were eventually certified to be dead by the doctor; another victim died in the hospital bringing the total number of the deceased to eight.
“Three others are receiving treatment at the hospital. All victims were males.”
He added: “An eye witness testified that the bus was on a high speed and engaged in wrongful overtaking, which led to loss of control and the eventual crash.
Also, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Tanko Ishaya, confirmed the accident that 11 people were in the vehicle, while nine died.They were the eight students and driver.
The Sector Commander, FRSC, Plateau Corps Commander Olajide Mogaji, called on the motoring public, especially drivers to desist from night trips, avoid high speed and dangerous driving, driving under the influence, and driving when sick or fatigued as they are the major causes of fatalities in an advent of crash, the statement added.
A student of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) was allegedly murdered by his fellow student at his Rurso off-campus apartment at the weekend.
The Nation gathered that the deceased, identified as Peter Mafuyai, a 300-level student of the Department of Banking and Finance, was reportedly killed by Nanpon Timnan, a 200-level student of Agriculture, who subsequently buried him in a shallow grave in the area.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the two students were friends and would often spend time together.
It was further gathered that on the day of the incident, they reportedly went out to play football, returned home, and later proceeded to a music studio for a recording session before coming back to their residence.
“Upon returning from the studio, he (Nanpon) went to get a machete. The other occupants of the compound, who were also friends with them, asked what he wanted to do with it, and he said he needed it for something.
“He then struck his friend with the machete. The other occupants of the compound began shouting and asked what the victim had done to deserve that, but he did not respond. They ran out to call for help, and by the time they returned, he had buried the body behind the house in a shallow grave.
Meanwhile, the police have since invited all the friends for questioning and are currently investigating the matter,” a source said.
However, the motive behind the killing, another source said it was still unclear but might not be unconnected with the music project they were working on together.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Plateau State Command DSP Alfred Alabo said he would issue an official statement today, when The Nation called for his reaction or comment on the issue.
The Federal Government has awarded a patent through Special License to the University of Jos for the institution’s groundbreaking invention of an Anti-Tick Vaccine (JUTVAC-NG).
This monumental achievement, according to a statement by Abdullahi Abdullahi, Deputy Registrar Information and Publications,comes following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of the University’s request, granting the institution the full powers, sole privilege, and authority to exercise the full benefits of this innovative novel Vaccine for Livestock development for a period of twenty years.
The issuance of the patent was confirmed by a letter of approval from Jane Igwe, Registrar of the Patent and Design Registry at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abuja.
The document specifies that the proprietary rights to this invention are exclusively held by the University of Jos and its inventors, Professor Goni Abraham Dogo from the Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Professor Tanko Ishaya from the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology.
The patent prevents all other parties from practicing or imitating the invention without obtaining full consent, licence, or agreement with the University of Jos and the inventors respectively.
This provision secures the University’s right to the intellectual property for the entire duration of the patent, as stipulated under the Certification of Registration Patent, Patents and Designs Act, Cap 344 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.
The Federal Government has warmly encouraged the University and its esteemed Researchers to utilize the Anti-Tick Vaccine (JUTVAC-NG), a major outcome from two TETFUND NRF Grants support, for the public good, impacting both health outcomes and Agricultural productivity across the nation.
It is anticipated that the Vaccine will significantly reduce the prevalence of Ticks among livestock, ultimately enhancing livelihoods and well-being within communities reliant on Farming and Agriculture.
Vice-Chancellor, University of Jos, Professor Tanko Ishaya, who is part of the Inventing Team, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for this recognition and support to the University. Professor Tanko stressed that the University is committed to ensuring that the Anti-Tick Vaccine makes a lasting positive impact on Public Health and contributes to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
Another key member of the Team, Professor Abraham Goni Dogo described the feat as a significant stride towards Scientific innovation and Public Health improvement within and outside Nigeria.
He assured that their commitment towards progress and nurturing talent within the Academic and Scientific communities will play a pivotal role in forging a healthier, productive and more prosperous future for the nation.
Academic and administrative activities have resumed at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) following a brief disruption caused by a peaceful protest staged by students over poor sanitary conditions in the hostels.
The protest, which took place earlier this week, was organised by concerned students seeking improved hygiene and timely maintenance of hostel facilities.
In response, the university management engaged student representatives in a dialogue aimed at addressing their grievances and correcting widespread misinformation regarding the institution’s handling of cleaning contracts.
According to a statement issued by the institution’s Senior Deputy Registrar, Information and Publications, Abdullahi Abdullahi, the university is not owing any cleaning contractor nine months of unpaid wages, as had been speculated in some quarters.
‘The delay in crediting some of the Cleaning Contractors resulted from some procedural aspects inherent in financial transactions of this nature, not due to a neglect of obligations by the University Management,” he said.
Despite financial constraints, the university has cleared five months of outstanding payments, Abdullahi clarified, noting that procedural delays in crediting some contractors were responsible for the temporary lapses, not negligence on the part of the institution.
He explained that payments to contractors are contingent upon the completion of assigned work, in line with standard procedures. Contractors who did not render services during the disputed period cannot justifiably expect payment, he added.
Following the clarification, both parties—management and students—reached a mutual agreement to end the protest.
As part of its immediate response, the university approved the commencement of hostel renovations and the urgent evacuation of accumulated waste to restore and maintain sanitary conditions across student accommodations.
The university administration commended the students for their peaceful conduct and constructive engagement, describing the outcome as a reaffirmation of the institution’s culture of dialogue and community spirit.
With the issues addressed and steps underway to improve living conditions, normal academic activities have resumed across campus, bringing an end to the brief period of tension.
Over 10,600 new students have been registered into the various degree programmes of the University of Jos for the 2024/2025 academic session.
This is out of about 54,000 candidates that applied for admission into the university within that period, who were screened and considered eligible for admission having scored 180 and above in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
This came to light during the university’s 2025 matriculation ceremony, which took place at the Multipurpose Auditorium, Bauchi Road Campus.
The event also served as an introduction of the new students to the fundamental principles and values upheld by the university.
The university’s vice-chancellor, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, highlighted the competitive nature of the university’s admission process and emphasised the importance of academic discipline and adherence to university regulations.
Prof. Ishaya urged the students to abide by the university’s rules and regulations while fully participating in student-related activities within the institution, reminding the students that a minimum of 75 per cent lecture attendance is mandatory for eligibility to sit for examinations.
The vice-chancellor lauded the students for choosing the university as their institution of first choice, describing their decision as a testament to the university’s high academic standards, recognised both nationally and internationally.
He explained that 66 foreign students from over 13 African countries, including Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Niger, Cameroon, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Togo and Zimbabwe, were admitted into the university for the current academic session.
According to him, this development underscored the university’s unwavering commitment to fostering international academic partnerships and bolstering its reputation as a globally recognised institution of higher learning..
Vice-Chancellor, University of Jos, Professor Tanko Ishaya, has called for the adoption of modern technology to address the mounting challenges facing higher education institutions in Nigeria.
The Vice-Chancellor was speaking while delivering the keynote address at a retreat organised for principal officers, deans and directors as well as other senior staff of the university, held at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru.
Professor Ishaya, who expressed deep concerns about the current state of Universities in Nigeria, emphasised the urgent need for technological solutions to enhance Research, Teaching, and overall service delivery in the Education sector.
The Vice-Chancellor identified inadequate funding for research, poor remuneration of academic and non-teaching staff, as well as lack of government interest in the Education sector, as major factors hindering the quality of education in the country.
He expressed dismay that the government has left universities to navigate these challenges on their own, with little support or engagement.
Professor Ishaya pointed out that the government often views universities as failing in their duties because they do not produce graduates who meet the needs of the job market or generate revenue through impactful Research.
For him, “The current situation is worrisome, and if we are to see any real progress, the government must look into the needs of universities, including the welfare of staff, to ensure that academic and other personnel are motivated to give their best.” He further decried the fact that many university staff are forced to take on additional jobs to meet their financial needs, which distracts them from their primary academic responsibilities and affects the quality of their teaching and research output.
Despite these challenges, Professor Tanko emphasised the importance of maintaining a culture of sacrifice within the academic community to prevent the Education sector from collapsing.
According to him, the pressure from both the government and industry regarding the quality of graduates produced by universities necessitated the retreat, which is aimed at brainstorming to formulate action plans and strategies for improving the quality of service delivery at the university.
He pointed out that ICT, particularly Artificial Intelligence, has already made significant strides globally, and universities must adopt these advancements to stay relevant, noting that the old ways of doing things are over.
In a presentation titled “Recruitment, Selection, Placement, Development, Promotions and Motivation of Employees”, Registrar of the University of Jos, Dr. Rejoice James Songden highlighted the importance of a systematic and strategic approach to employee management, emphasising how effective recruitment and selection processes can contribute to the overall success of the university.
The NSC Chairman seized the opportunity to reiterate the Commission’s resolve, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, to revive NUGA in particular, and schools sports in general.
His words: “Mr. President has given us the mandate to take sports to the grassroots and schools sports is at the heart of this assignment. It must be noted that 38% of the medals at the last Olympics in France were won by University undergraduates. This is why we have to make sure that the standard of NUGA Games is top notch. If we get it right at that level, it will go a long way to secure the future of our sports.”
He was impressed with the updates on the facilities and the institution’s disposition towards hosting a successful Games and had words of encouragement for the VC.
“We are looking at having one centre of excellence in each of the six geopolitical zones. The process to select the centres is on and if you continue along this trajectory, who knows, UNIJOS could be one of the centres,” he said.
To host memorable Games, an ultramodern multipurpose sports complex which is about 70% completed is being constructed while two consultants have been engaged to secure private support for the Games.
According to Prof. Ishaya, the efforts being made to construct the state-of-the-art facilities is geared towards making the institution a sports hub in Nigeria, technically and academically by starting delineate sports management courses and degrees in the University.
To actualize the sports hub ambitions, they are partnering with National Sports University South Korea. The university will also collaborate with other institutions of sporting excellence abroad especially the Centre for International Sports Studies (CIS) in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Hosting the Games is part of the institution’s wider plans for sports which would see it feature about ten sports courses including sports medicine, sports law, sports management, sports psychology and sports science etc. in the academic aspect. The VC also confirmed the interest of University of Jos to host one of the Centres of excellence being planned by the NSC.
The NUGA Council meeting billed for Jos on January 28 and 29 is slated to discuss and evaluate the institution’s readiness to host the Games.
Furthermore, Prof. Ishaya extended an invitation to the NSC Chairman to visit the institution for facilities inspection so as to know how the Commission can assist the institution in its quest to become a sports hub.
The management of the University of Jos has embarked on desperate search for alternative energy supply away from the national grid to power the entire university.
The management has therefore opened up discussions with private and public energy companies for partnership in this regard.
Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Tanko Ishaya, disclosed this during his interactive session with the media after presenting his third- year stewardship.
The VC noted that it has realised that it is difficult for the university to cope with the humongous energy bills sourcing power from the national grid.
He said, “The hike in energy tariffs has multiplied cost of consumption; with the current Band we are placed at the University, we are now paying four times what we used to pay, and that makes it extremely difficult for the university to cope.
“It is on that note that we have started looking for alternative to the national grid for our energy supply. We are planning to invest in solar energy. A number of solar options are on our table to power the entire university. We are already discussing with five companies and we are looking at the various models of solar energies they are recommending to us.
“We are much more interested in a partnership on a PPP arrangement. We are also engaging government agencies to upgrade our solar farm through the opportunity provided by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)
“The university is also engaging some national Assembly members to explore the opportunity of their constituency projects by way of taking power project in one faculty or department.
“Meanwhile, what we are currently doing is to minimise the humongous energy bill from the national grid by rationing our light. We are trying to get the Student Union Government (SUG) to understand the situation and accept rationing of energy supply. It is just impossible to provide light 24 hours by current energy tariff.
The VC, however, decried the power situation, where despite the monthly bill that has quadrupled since the current banding regime by DISCOs, the university gets only five hours of electricity supply daily.
Members of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) community comprising the management, students, academic and non-academic staff and the alumni, are mounting pressure on the federal government and the security agencies to use every means at their disposal to secure the release of the abducted medical students.
It is now over one week since the kidnap incident and there appears to be no clue about the whereabouts of the students, leading to further trauma on the part of their families, friends and relatives.
The Nation learnt that the management of UNIJOS is not favourably disposed to making comments about the abduction or efforts being made to get the students out from captivity.
However, the silence of the university’s management has added to the worries of the entire university community.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof TakoIshaya, said: “We don’t even want to talk about it publicly.
“We are doing a lot behind the scene. But for the security of our students in the hands of kidnappers, we prefer to maintain silence over it for now.”
But while the management may have chosen to keep silent on the matter, it is not so with other members of the university community, especially students of the Faculty of Medicine.
The President of the faculty, who identified himself simply as Mr. Kehinde, said: “The news of the incident came to me as shock.
“I was totally devastated. But I have to gather myself together because there are works to do to get our colleagues back safely. So there is no time to sit and lament of the issue. And because it is a very sensitive security matter, we have to be strategic about it.
“So we’ve been trying our best to see that things work normal and see that our colleagues are released unhurt and safe. All we are doing is to pray for God’s intervention.”
Mr. Kehinde added: “Nobody was happy actually when we heard the news in the university. The atmosphere has been tense. Everybody is sad. When your friends are kidnapped, it is not something you would be happy about.
“I would not want to talk much about it; rather than I would pray and plead for their release and safe return. If they are out, I can give out any information that you want from me. I would not want a situation that would jeopardise getting them released anytime soon.”
President of the Students Union Government (SUG) of UNIJOS, Sambo Peter, said: “It was quite shocking when we got the news of the abduction of the medical students.
“These are students who were on a trip for a conference. We all know the suffering Nigerian students are passing through in terms of national unrest and other issues. We don’t even know whether it is now a crime to go to school.
“We have also embarked on mass prayers, because as I told you, it is a holistic approach; as all hands are on deck together with religious institutions. We declared three-day prayers. Our earnest desire is that these people will come back safely to reunite with their families and also meet up with their academic pursuit.”
The Plateau State chapter of the alumni association of the school said the ugly incident once again points to the threat on our highways and the clear and present danger in the search for education and knowledge.
Chairman of the chapter, Gad Peter, said in a statement: “We hereby call on the police and other security agencies to ensure a swift and safe rescue of these students and also the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of this dastardly act.
“We condemn without mincing words this criminal act and hereby call on every citizen and community leaders to expose criminal elements hiding and using their communities for criminal activities.
“We pray for the safe return of our dear brothers and sisters.”
Meanwhile, the university management has cautioned the parents of their 12 students against making any public comment on the abduction.
The parents were grouped and advised to work silently with the school management for the sake of the lives and careers of their children.
All three of the parents our correspondent approached declined comments on the incident. “Kidnappers do release their victims and grab the ones that come to pay ransom.
“That is why we don’t want to expose ourselves to these criminal elements by putting our names in print. “That would be very risky,” he said.
Contrary to the initial report of the abduction of 20 medical students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), the management of the university has confirmed that those kidnapped are 12 medical students.
The Public Relations Officer of the university, Abdullahi Abdullahi, who spoke to The Nation on phone yesterday said: “Let me clear one impression, our students kidnapped in Otukpo, Benue State are 12, not 20 that was widely reported in the media.
“Among the 12 are 11 medical students and one graduate in Housemanship, making it 12.
“I can confirm that out of the 12 victims in captivity, 11 of them are our students and the 12th is a graduate of Housemanship.’’
It was reported that no fewer than 20 medical students from the UNIJOS were kidnapped in Otukpo last Thursday evening while on their way to Enugu State.
Abdullahi said: “We have reported the matter to the police. You know the incident did not happen in Jos, it happened in Benue State. Our duty is to make appropriate reports, and we have done that.
“We have confidence in the police doing their job, we only need to pray for a successful investigation and eventual release of our students.’’
Meanwhile, the University of Jos Alumni Plateau State chapter condemns the recent abduction of some medical students of the University of Jos and Maiduguri by some criminal elements in Benue State.
In a statement, its Chairman, the Unijos Alumni Association, Plateau State, chapter, Gad Peter, said: “We condemn without mincing words, this criminal act and hereby call on every citizen and community leaders to expose criminal elements hiding and using their communities for criminal activities.
“We pray for the safe return of our dear brothers and sisters.”
