The authorities of the University of Maiduguri has hit on an idea they hope will keep away or reduce attacks from Boko Haram terrorists who have made the university a target in their renewed bid to seize the initiative in their war with the military.
The plan is a 27km trench being dug around the University.
This is coming in the wake of Sunday attack during which three suicide bombers killed themselves and a security guard.
Lectures, students and residents within the university campus have been regular targets of the terrorists before and after the negotiated release of the Chibok girls with the Federal Government recently.
It was expected that the negotiation, which led to the release of some terrorists in government custody, would pave the way for the some amnesty talk and possibly end to the attacks.
But that has not happened as the suicide attacks by the group has intensified, leading to speculation that they had hatched the swap plan as part of their war tactics and a show of strength.
According to police report, the first attack on Sunday led to a suicide bomber blowing “himself up inside the grounds of Maiduguri’s university, killing a female security guard.
“Minutes later, four female suicide bombers then attacked two villages just outside the city, killing 12 people.”
The university authorities decided to build the trenches to make it hard for the militants to drive into the university as well as for them to access the campus on foot.
Funding is coming from the Borno state governor Kashim Shettima who has also asked the federal government for money to fund a permanent barrier.
He is also releasing money to pay allowances to guards drawn from local vigilante groups, who are working with the police to patrol the area.
He said, “ While the university was a federal institution, it was the Borno state government’s responsibility to stop the militants from achieving their aim of forcing the university’s closure.”
