The Cross River State Government has evacuated 37 of its indigenes studying at the University of Jos following security concerns in Jos.
The evacuation followed distress calls reportedly received from Cross River students in the institution who raised alarm over rising insecurity and fear of attacks in parts of the city.
Speaking on the development in a statement on Saturday, the Special Assistant to the governor on Student Affairs, Joseph-Kelvin Enyam, said the state government moved swiftly to evacuate the students after the situation was brought to the attention of the governor.
According to him, the Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Edet Otu, directed that immediate steps be taken to ensure the safe evacuation of all Cross River students from the area until normalcy is restored.
Enyam explained that following the directive, the state government contacted the management of the university to secure the students in safe locations pending their evacuation.
He added that a team from the state government subsequently travelled to Plateau State to coordinate the evacuation process.
“We reached out to the university management and requested that our students be assembled in secured locations for easy evacuation, while those off-campus were advised to remain in their residences until our arrival,” he said.
The governor’s aide noted that the evacuation team, supported by security personnel, moved to various locations within the city to pick up students, including those residing off-campus.
He disclosed that the team visited areas such as Angwa Rukuba, where some of the students were living, and safely evacuated them under security escort.
According to him, officials of the Plateau State Government also provided security support to facilitate the operation.
The state Security Adviser, Shipi Gakji, was said to have deployed security personnel and escort vehicles to assist the evacuation team as they moved through areas considered volatile.
Enyam said the students were successfully evacuated and are expected to remain in Cross River until the security situation in Jos improves.
He reiterated the state government’s commitment to the welfare and safety of Cross River students studying across the country.
