Explosion rocks Gombe State University

Explosion yesterday
rocked the Administrative
block of the Gombe State
University, Gombe
prompting a colossal
destruction of both the
building and many
valuable items in the
building.
The block also houses the
Senate, Council Chambers
as well as the office of
the Vice Chancellor of the
University.
According to sources
from the University, the
incident occurred at
about 8:30, Thursday
night when workers and
staff had closed and left
office.
Though there were no
human casualties, the
items in the office which
included chairs, tables
and sensitive documents
were burnt by the fire
that ensued in the
explosion.
Some students of the
University who spoke to
Vanguard said sporadic
gunshots around the
senate building and the
second gate of the
University preceded the
explosion.
The incident caused
unusual panic and
resulted to an immediate
mass exodus of the many
students who fled the
school on the heels of
the explosion.
A fleeing female remedial
student who craved for
anonymity told this
reporter that running
home for safety in the
company of other
students that night was
not easy as they took a
great risky flagging down
a vehicle whose driver
they did not know to
take them home.
The Vice Chancellor of the
University, Professor
Abdualhi Mahdi responding
to a question from
Vanguard said that
“there is nothing that I
know about it. Just as
you are seeing it, is the
way I saw it too. It
happened yesterday
night. So I wouldn’t know
what actually happened”.
On whether there were
casualties, the VC said
“no, there were no
casualties. Not a single
person. It happened at
night when everybody
must have left”.
Professor Mahdi whose
office was in the building
read no meanings into
the explosion as whether
he was the target. He
said that the fire which
started on the outside
roof of the building would
have been extinguished if
fire fighters were readily
available.
His office particularly got
lucky as the fire didn’t
get inside. But the
windows of his office
were shattered by the
vibration of the explosion
on the building.
Meanwhile, the State
Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim
Hassan Dankwambo has
visited the scene to
ascertain the level of
damage. He later told
the Press that the
perpetrators of the act
are not to be fished out
by the security agencies
who are currently
investigating the incident.
Governor Dankwambo
inspected the explosion
site with his Deputy, Mr.
Thainda Jason Rubainu,
the Speaker of the State
Assembly, Rt. Hon. Inuwa
Garba, the State
Commissioner of Police,
the Commandant of the
301 Artillery Regiment in
the state and a host of
other government
functionaries.
It could be recalled that
Gombe State has
witnessed serial bombings
and explosions since the
beginning of the year.
While many said that
there has been
speculation about an
imminent attack on the
University, it is not clear
if the yesterday
explosion was part of the
attack.
It is also not known
whether the university
which has scheduled
Monday for the
commencement of its first
semester exams will
continue go ahead with
the date.
No arrest has been made
of the attack yet just as
the security agencies
including the Police have
intensified patrol and
increased surveillance
especially in the state
capital.

Source: Vanguard News