Community accuses Unijos of blocking access road

Naraguta Community in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State has pleaded with Governor Simon Bako Lalong to intervene over the blocking of a road that passes through the university of Jos from the community by the school’s authorities.

According to the community, the blockage has been affecting them both socially and economically for years.

The community made the call in Jos through the Director of Naraguta Leather Works, Abdullahi Shuaibu.

Shuaibu, a resident of the area, said the road was constructed during the colonial era when the institution was not established, noting that the community had been using the road for years before it was suddenly blocked.

“This is the road that we have been using for decades but has been barricaded by the university without any reason. We have tried all we could to find out the reason for the blockage but to no avail,’’ he said.

Shuaibu said the only alternative road to the community was in poor condition at present, adding that the state government was aware of their age-long plight.

“I have submitted our complaints including the blocking of the road by the university to the governor’s former Chief of Staff but nothing was down,” he recalled and called for government’s intervention, adding that the promises made by the governor to them during the electioneering campaign had not been fulfilled.

Reacting, the spokesperson of the institution, Mr. Abdullahi Abdullahi, said the university blocked the road for security reasons.

He said, “During the 2015 general election, there was an attack on students and other people, who came to vote at a pulling unit located in the university.

“The attackers came through that rout and for that reason, security advice was given that the road be blocked for the safety of the students and other people living within the university.”