Fear gripped the University of Jos community on Tuesday after a farmer’s lifeless body was discovered on a farmland at the institution’s permanent site with his head severed.
University authorities confirmed that the victim was neither a student nor a member of staff but a farmer well known in the area for cultivating crops on the land.
A 300-level student of the university, Pius Atok, said the body was found early Tuesday morning, causing panic among students and residents.
“The body was found this morning on a farm around the university community. From what we gathered, the victim was neither a student nor a member of staff of the university,” Atok said.
Confirming the incident, the university’s Chief Security Officer, Agama Tangni, said the deceased regularly farmed on the land where his body was found.
“I can confirm that somebody was beheaded here. He is neither a student nor a staff member of the university,” Tangni said.
He said the victim was easily identified because he was a familiar face in the area and usually arrived at the farm very early each morning.
Tangni said the incident appeared like a planned attack.
“I cannot say for certain if the attackers had been watching him, but everything suggests they deliberately targeted him, killed him, severed his head and took it away,” he said.
He disclosed that the victim’s family had been informed, while the body had been taken to the Bingham University Teaching Hospital.
He added that the university management had been briefed on the incident and would issue an official statement through its information directorate.
