The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria chapter, has threatened to sue Governor Nasir El-Rufai if he goes ahead with his plan to “illegally” take the university’s land at Mando, Kaduna.
Speaking to newsmen in Zaria, the ASUU Chairman, Prof. Rabiu Nasiru said the union had received credible information that the state government was desperate to take over the land belonging to College of Agriculture (Mando Campus Kaduna) of the university.
He said in 2012, a committee headed by the then Controller, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Kaduna was set up to demarcate the boundary of the land between the College of Agriculture and Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
According to him, in 2014, the committee submitted its report where it advised the Mando College to fence its own entire boundary to prevent further encroachment, which was duly carried out and has been serving as a grazing area for the college’s livestock.
Prof. Nasiru, however, stated that despite the fencing attempts were made to take the land from the college under a different guise.
“The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing approached the authorities of ABU to give parts of the land to the ministry, which was denied.”
“Thereafter, they claimed that a portion of the fenced area was a portion of their land seven years after demarcation of which was established to be false.
“And then, Kaduna Geographic and Information Service, KADGIS, attempted to carry out a survey and demarcate plots of land within the fenced area, which the college resisted”.
The ASUU chairman said “In view of this development, the union wants to sound a word of caution to the governor of Kaduna State to desist from this callousness and unlawful taking over of the property belonging to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
“To the buyers, we advise them not to pay for any land allocated to them in this place because doing so will be futile.
“Let me reiterate that ASUU, ABU Chapter shall never rest until this matter is resolved in favour of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,” he assured.
