The Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical, Gombe, has been closed down indefinitely, after being occupied by Nigeria’s military as a base against Boko Haram insurgency.

The Provost of the College, Dr Adamu Gimba-Abbas, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Gombe.

Gimba-Abbas explained that the decision to close the institution was done in consultation with the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission of Colleges of Education (NCCE) and other stakeholders.

According to him, military operatives have been occupying the college since Feb. 10.
“When I sought for the reason, I was told that it was a base for military operation which they could not determine the period,’’ said the provost.

He said as a result of the presence of the soldiers in the college, accompanied with their helicopters, most of the students had left the institution because of apprehension.

“You know in this situation learning cannot take place in the presence of military,” he said.

Gimba-Abbas noted that the few students that were left had been directed to vacate the campus until when the security situation improved.

The provost said after reviewing the development in the college and the situation in Gombe, the Governing Council of the college directed for its the immediate closure until further notice.

However, NAN reports that the students who are in the campus cannot leave due to the 24-hour curfew imposed on Gombe metropolis following Saturday’s attacks on Dadin Kowa, Hina and Gombe towns of the state by insurgents