A lecturer of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has been murdered in an attack by yet-be-be-identified gunmen.

On Tuesday, Emmanuel Ojukwu, the UNIZIK spokesperson, confirmed the development to TheCable.

The victim has been identified as Fabian Osita Chinedu.

Tochukwu Ikenga, the state police PRO, said the UNIZK staff member was shot on Monday night at Aroma junction in Akwa.

Ikenga, who noted that the murderers made off with the victim’s car, said an investigation on the matter has already commenced.

“Information reveals that Mr. Fabian, a staff of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka was allegedly shot by unidentified gunmen yesterday 16th December 2024 at 10.10 pm at Aroma Junction,” he said in a statement.

“The murderers also made away with his car, a Toyota Corolla 2006 model, Ash colour with an Enugu Plate number, UWN 158 AS.”

Ikenga urged the public to come forward with any useful information that could aid the investigation.

“The command also urges members of the public who might have seen the vehicle or any abandoned vehicle with a similar description to report to the closest police station or call the command control room number,” he said.

A report quoted a witness as claiming that Fabian was blocked off by another vehicle whose occupants proceeded to gun down the lecturer when he came out of his car to protest.

Fabian Osita Chinedu hailed from Nteje in the Oyi local government area of Anambra.

He was a lecturer at a lecturer in at UNIZIK’s business administration department.

The federal executive council has approved the renaming of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) to Yakubu Gowon University.

Mohammed Idris, the minister of information, spoke at the 14th council meeting of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He addressed state house correspondents after the meeting, which is the last for 2024.

Idris said the renaming of UniAbuja is to honour General Yakubu Gowon (retd) who recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

The minister emphasised that the proposal to rename the university will be forwarded to the national assembly for formal approval, ensuring that the change is officially recognised.

Yakubu Gowon is a retired Nigerian military officer who served as the head of state from 1966 to 1975.

He became Nigeria’s youngest leader at the age of 31 following a counter-coup during a period of severe political instability.

Gowon is best known for leading Nigeria during the civil war (1967–1970), a conflict sparked by the secession of the southeastern region.

Under his leadership, Nigeria adopted the slogan “to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done”, preserving the country’s territorial integrity.

Post-war, Gowon initiated the “no victor, no vanquished” policy and a reconstruction project aimed at healing national divisions.

Gowon’s tenure was also marked by significant economic growth fueled by an oil boom, which he leveraged to embark on large-scale infrastructure projects and the expansion of education.

In 1975, Gowon was overthrown in a bloodless coup while attending an Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Uganda.

After his ouster, he spent years in exile, pursued academic studies, and later became an advocate for peace and unity in Nigeria.

Established in 1988, UniAbuja was designed as a dual-mode institution, offering both conventional and distance learning programmes to cater to a diverse student population.

The FCT police say they are probing an alleged bullying involving a student of Beautiful Beginning Academy Abuja.

On 2 December, a video surfaced on social media appearing to show some senior students bullying a younger junior colleague.

The alleged victim, identified only as Imitiyas and said to be in SS2, was depicted as being subdued.

The video showed the senior final-year students ordering Imitiyas, who had his neck strung up with a chain, to lie on the floor.

Since going viral on social media, the footage has generated outrage and calls for a police investigation.

TheCable contacted Josephine Adeh, FCT police spokesperson, but she had yet to respond as of this report.

Adeh, who disclosed that the school is already being probed, told BBC that none of the family members of the alleged victim reported the matter to the police.

The school Principal Aaron Ipke, while addressing the press in Abuja on Tuesday, was quoted as hedging that the students involved were engaged in an act of “playful performance” misinterpreted as evidence of bullying.

He argued that the school has had an open-door policy that allows students to report any harassment concerns.

Ikpe claimed the students arranged for the clip to be recorded on a device provided by the school while other students in the hostel watched the performance.

“There was no bullying case here at BBA. It was a make-believe. We were in school at the time. And the way we run our school, we operate an open-door policy,” he was quoted as saying.

“Students, even from the nursery, come to the MD’s office, to the principal’s office, to express any concerns they might have. We don’t have that kind of bureaucracy. So, if there was any bullying at all, at least one student would have heard about it and reported it to us.

“It wasn’t a case of bullying. They staged a play. Interestingly, they did it in their hostel, and there were other students around watching.”

Ipke was further quoted as expressing shock at the allegation of bullying made by family members of the SS2 student.

He said the school had never recorded a case of bullying in its 14 years of existence.

“No such report was made until the sisters came on Monday to tell us there was a bullying case in the school. In 14 years of existence, we’ve never had a situation like this or a case of this nature,” the principal said.