Hundreds of students of the Taraba State College of Nursing Sciences, Jalingo, on Monday staged a peaceful protest following an overnight attack on one of the female hostels located outside the institution’s premises.

The hoodlums allegedly raped a female student during the attack and inflicted injuries on her, including cutting one of her fingers.

The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Monday when the attackers invaded the hostel and dispossessed students of their phones and other valuables.

The victim was subsequently taken to GSCN Hospital in the Mile 6 area of Jalingo for treatment, according to sources.

A students’ union official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said the latest incident was the second attack on the students’ hostels within two weeks.

He said the attackers had raided some hostels the previous week and stole phones and other valuables belonging to students.

“Yesterday night, the hoodlums came in their numbers and attacked one of the female students’ hostels. They raped one of the students and also carted away phones belonging to the students and other valuables.”

“They also cut one of the fingers of the student after raping her. She is now on admission at a private hospital located at Mile 6 area in Jalingo,” he said.

According to him, students had complained to the school authorities following the first attack, after which the Commissioner for Tertiary Education visited the college and promised improved security.

“When the first attack happened last week, we complained to the school authorities and the Commissioner of Tertiary Education visited the college and promised that security measures would be put in place in all the hostels, but nothing was done,” he said.

The students subsequently staged a protest at the college gate on Monday, demanding urgent intervention by the Taraba State Government and security agencies to protect them from further attacks.

The students also raised concerns over the continued use of hostels located outside the college premises despite the completion of hostel facilities within the institution.

The students’ union official said the college has seven hostels — one for male students and six for females — but that students were still accommodated outside the premises.

“We have seven hostels, one for male and six for female, but students are all located outside the premises of the college and there is no adequate security, which exposed us, the students, to danger,” he said.

The attack comes days after the Taraba State Ministry of Tertiary Education visited the College of Nursing Sciences following a reported robbery attack on students’ hostels.

The ministry said armed men had invaded the hostels, stolen mobile phones and assaulted students. It said 33 phones were reportedly stolen, while some students sustained injuries. Three phones and a cutlass were recovered at the scene, according to the ministry’s report.

The ministry subsequently recommended urgent security measures around the hostels, intensified investigation and the relocation of students to safer accommodation. It also called for the completion and commissioning of the college’s new hostels.

The Provost of the college, Dr Dorcas Dugule, when contacted, confirmed that she was handling the matter but declined to comment immediately.

“I am on top of the issue. I will not speak; please give me time,” she said, report mentioned.

Fulham Manager, Alvaro Arbeloa has accused the officiating referees in his club’s match against Manchester United on Sunday, of not wanting Manchester United to lose against Fulham because of the injustice Michael Carrick’s side faced in the Manchester derby last weekend.

United rescued a 1-1 draw after Matheus Cunha scored a deflected 89th-minute equaliser – but Fulham head coach Arbeloa was furious that, 35 seconds before the goal, United were given a free-kick for a foul on Harry Maguire on the halfway line.

Arbeloa felt the free-kick for Cesar Palacios’ foul on Maguire was soft and felt that referee Michael Oliver and his team of officials gave “all fouls” to United – because of the “error in judgement” by the officials who incorrectly awarded Erling Haaland’s Manchester derby winner at Old Trafford last weekend.

“All fouls for them,” Arbeloa claimed in a post match interview.
“You can see before they scored, the foul against Maguire, he’s a guy who is 100 kilos. Every decision was for them.

“And I knew. I knew after the game against Man City that they [would not] let Manchester United lose here. We deserved a little bit more.

“We were so close. So, so close. We were a little bit unlucky again. We knew it would be difficult against this big team.

“Also we knew what happened last week. We have seen what the referees have been doing in all the matches so it was a difficult game. And we we were unlucky.”

Ruben Amorim insists he will not be pushed into making the same tactical mistakes he made during his stint with Manchester United, now he is in charge of AC Milan.

Amorim’s unbeaten start in Serie A continued on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 win against Lecce at San Siro, with the result moving Milan up to fifth in the standings.

Christian Pulisic’s sensational touch and finish put Milan ahead early on, before Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira sealed the win for the Rossoneri during a dominant second half.

Milan’s victory saw them remain unbeaten in their opening five Serie A matches of a season for the first time since 2022-23

Amorim has become only the third foreign manager in Milan’s history to not taste defeat in each of his first five Serie A games in charge, after Luis Carniglia and Nils Liedholm both in 1963-64.

Speaking after the game, Amorim revealed he allowed his side to play with “freedom”, and when asked about the reasoning behind that decision, he highlighted his turbulent tenure at Old Trafford, where he was reluctant to adapt his style of play.

“It’s an observation of the games and the characteristics,” Amorim told DAZN, as quoted by Football Italia.

“Of course, I listen to the players, but a manager, especially in a big team, is always listening to the players, seeing and understanding them, but every player wants to push the game towards their characteristics, and if you want to have an identity, that is hard.

“It’s always my decision. What I felt in the last games is the same that I felt at Manchester United, and I cannot make the same mistake.

“Sometimes we don’t have the perfect characteristics to play in that way, and if we don’t have them, we have to adapt. I think today worked.

“In another game, we can return to the build-up with three [at the back]. The important thing is to have different ways of playing.

“That’s especially important in Italy, because the managers are really smart, they mark really well one against one, and when they lose the reference to what we want to do, it’s harder for them to understand their mobility, just as they make it harder for me to understand their teams.”

Milan have now won their first two home Serie A matches of a season while keeping a clean sheet in both for the first time since 2020-21, when they beat Bologna 2-0 and Spezia 3-0 under Stefano Pioli.