By Israel Adamu
Panic gripped the University of Jos, UNIJOS, community on Tuesday after the beheaded body of a middle-aged man was discovered on a farmland at the institution’s Permanent Site.
The deceased, whose identity had yet to be officially confirmed as of the time of filing this report, was found with his head severed and missing, triggering fear among students, staff and residents.
A 300-level student of the university, Pius Atok, who spoke to Vanguard, said the body was discovered on a farm within the university community.
“The body was found this morning on a farm around the university community. From what we gathered, the victim was neither a student nor a member of staff of the university,” he said.
Confirming the incident, the Chief Security Officer of the university, Mr. Agama Tangni, said the deceased was neither a student nor a staff member of the institution.
According to him, the victim was a farmer who was well known to people in the area because he regularly cultivated crops on the farmland where his body was found.
“I can confirm that somebody was beheaded here. He is neither a student nor a staff member of the university.
“The identity of the deceased is known because the place where he was beheaded is where he usually came to farm. He normally arrived there very early in the morning.
“I don’t know whether the assailants had been monitoring him, but from the look of things, they appeared to have targeted him, beheaded him and made away with his head,” Tangni said.
He said the victim’s relatives had been informed and the body had been evacuated to the Bingham University Teaching Hospital
“The relatives of the deceased have been notified, and his corpse has been deposited at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital,” he added.
Tangni said the university management had been briefed on the incident and would communicate officially with members of the university community.
“The University of Jos management is aware of the unfortunate incident, and the Information Directorate will communicate appropriately through the university’s official platforms,” he said.
The incident sent shockwaves across the university community, with students and residents expressing concern over security within and around the institution.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Plateau State Police Command, SP Alfred Alabo, for confirmation and further details were unsuccessful.
