By Uthman AbdulRahman
On Saturday, 7th October when some Zikites were still having a tug with their bed to snap out of sleeping mode, a loud noise of “ole ole ole (thief thief thief)” echoed through the atmosphere as residents of Independence Hall, a neighboring hostel, marched swiftly in pursuance of an alleged thief who later got nabbed in Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall of Residence.
According to an eye witness, the suspect who identified himself as Emmanuel- a non-uite, was caught at the first floor of BLOCK B, Independence Hall where he made an attempt to gain illegal access into one of the rooms on the floor. Realizing that he had been caught, he initially managed to escape the grip of the whistleblowers from the hall by jumping down from the first floor and taking to his heels towards BLOCK D of Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall.
An eye-witness, Kester from Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall confirmed that the theft alert heard from Indy Hall prepped Zikites that an alleged thief is on the run. This did not only raise the attention of the up and active Zikites at that moment, but also snapped some people out of their sleeps in a bid to chase down any suspect who runs through Zik.
The alleged thief was finally caught on the run by a Zikite who nabbed him down.
According to another eye witness, instant strokes of punishments; ranging from slaps, hitting with sticks and other self-administered justice through beatings were meted out to him before the intervention of the Defense Team and porters who took him to the Hall’s Junior Common Room (JCR) for proper questioning.
This reporter observed the rage and grievances of those who got their gadgets stolen recently, and their zeal in making the suspect ‘suffer’ more before being handed to any authority.
Having restricted many people from entering the room, he got questioned with intermittent slaps about the recent theft cases in the hall and what he knew about them.
Recall that UCJ UI published a report on the plight of the hall’s residents as regards the recent spike in theft cases.
According to the Defense Minister, Mr. Peter, the suspect did not provide any useful information to reckon with.
He (defense minister) added that the mode of operation of the theft cases clearly showed that there is an informant from inside the hall giving the alleged thief an intel.
However, there was no sufficient evidence to establish that the alleged thief was behind other theft cases nor have an accomplice in the hall.
In an attempt to contain the situation and ensure proper justice, the Hall Warden Dr. Femi Adebiyi ordered for halt in punishment and invited officers from the University’s security unit -Abefele, who came to take him after they also gave him a couple of slaps.
The defense minister told this reporter that the alleged thief is under investigation.
