SSANU plans to seek gun license for varsity security officers
By Modupe Shodeinde
University workers under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) are proposing to write to the National Assembly, seeking gun licence for security officers at the various universities across the country.
This comes in the wake of abductions of staff and students on university campuses. The association said it believed if the universities’ security teams were allowed to carry arms, bandits and kidnappers would not have a field day attacking campuses and kidnapping lecturers and students.
It added that it would push all the right buttons to ensure gun licence for security teams was obtained to protect its members, students, as well as communities surrounding most universities.
In a report by Punch when asked if the association would write the National Assembly to seek gun licence for security men guarding university campuses to push forward their demand, SSANU National President, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, said it was something they were working on.
He said, “Yes, it is something that is on our table. As a union with a large membership, our members have remained the constant targets of bandits and kidnappers, and we know how their families and the union were involved in ensuring the release of those kidnapped in the past.
“So we have started putting documents together; we are consulting because it is something that has to do with the law. But because getting to change a law is a herculean task in Nigeria, it’s not all going to be in writing. You have to lobby and knock at strategic doors.
“At the end of the day, it’s not only our members that are going to benefit from the law. Other members of the community are also going to benefit. So we are not going to leave anything to chance. We will push all the (right) buttons that we need to push to ensure this is done to protect our members, the students, and surrounding communities at the universities.
Speaking on if the universities would increase security men on campus, Ibrahim said the campuses were not lacking in security and what the security officers needed was only licence to carry guns, “what makes the difference between our security people and the bandits or kidnappers is the arms the latter carry.
“If the criminals were to face our security officers one on one, they wouldn’t be able to do anything. But it’s the weapons the criminals bring that scare our people. If you dare the criminals without having weapons, they will shoot and kill.” He said.
Ibrahim said SSANU would tender the request at the National Assembly, “in the next few weeks.”
He said, “We are spread all over the country and our membership cuts across all universities. Also, we have the different arms of the union such as the National Executive Council and National Administrative Council.
“Both of them have considered the option but we need to dot the i’s and cross the t’s before we present the ideas. So in the next few weeks, we should be able to come up with something reasonable.”
