Some men believed to be officials of? the State Security Services (SSS) in Kano yesterday? swooped on a zonal coordinator of the? North West zone of the Academic? Staff Union? of Universities (ASUU),? Dr. Baffa? Abdullahi? Bichi, and attempted to whisk him away.
Baffa who resisted the attempt to be taken away without an arrest warrant from the officers was however given a beating of his life in the process.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists in his bed at the Bayero University Kano (BUK) Clinic, said: “It was in the early hours of yesterday as I went to the Union`s Secretariat at the old campus of the Bayero University, some fierce looking men came and asked me to follow them to the SSS office. I demanded for a warrant, but they said I should follow them first to the SSS office. Since they did not produce the warrant, I resisted following them but offered to go there on my own. They insisted that
I must follow them and in the process they beat me up.”
He continued: “One of them forced me to stand and with the help of one of his colleagues, they began to push me around, and forced me to enter their vehicle. I had to scream and shout repeatedly which drew the attention of a woman to the scene. She called the attention of the people within the premises of the university.”
Baffa said while attempting to make a distress phone call, the security operatives tried to wriggle the phone from his hand. In the course of ensuing struggle, they realised that more people were gathering and therefore decided to run away.
According to him, one of the officers is the Labour Desk Officer in the SSS Office in Kano.
Chairman of the ASUU, BUK Chapter, Dr Mahmud Lawal, said they were dismayed by the act and will take it up appropriately; adding that the act was callous and the union will not relent in its effort to see justice done.
When contacted, the police spokesman, ASP Magaji Musa Majia, said the Police have received complaints from concerned citizens and the state police command has invited the victim and had also advised him to file a case at the nearest police division as investigation continues.