Ayanlere Aishat reports,
Female students in Benji, a private accommodation that houses hundreds of students at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), were left shaken after an unidentified man entered their compound in the early hours of Sunday, August 23, 2026, and physically harassed several sleeping students across multiple rooms. Pen Press is withholding the specific hostel name to protect residents from stigma.
According to students who spoke to Pen Press, the man entered the compound at about 4:30am and moved through at least four rooms, touching students inappropriately while they slept. Despite phones and other valuables lying within reach, he stole nothing.
In the first room, he caressed a sleeping student’s thigh. Witnesses said he also shone a torch through windows and tried several doors along the way.
In the second room, believing only one student was present, he attempted to cover her mouth after his touch woke her. She managed to call out her roommate’s name, and he fled. Students said he was later sighted heading toward the 80k hostel area.
One of the survivors, Amina (pseudonym), said she was asleep when she saw a man in a white jalamia standing over her, touching her inappropriately. Shocked and scared, she initially assumed she was dreaming, until she heard a scream from a neighbouring room minutes later.
Another resident, Zainab (pseudonym), said she woke to her roommate screaming and saw the man touching her sexually. By the time she struggled free of her mosquito net to help, he had already fled the room.
Residents attribute the incident to the lack of security at the hostel, which they believe gave the intruder room to act undetected. They said the compound’s entrance door has been unusable for weeks; although the landlord supplied a replacement days ago, it has yet to be installed.
Following the incident, Amina said she would no longer sleep with her door open, a precaution she had previously skipped because of the heat.
Following inquiries from Pen Press, the landlord, Mallam Meigida visited the hostel and promised to fix the entrance door as soon as possible. As at the time of filing, the repair had not started.
Students in Benji and similar offcampus hostels are advised to ensure doors and windows are secure before sleeping, report faulty locks to landlords immediately and in writing, avoid sleeping with doors open regardless of heat, and alert neighbours or hostel coordinators promptly if a security concern arises.
Students who experience or witness an incident like this are encouraged to report it to university authorities and may reach out to campus counselling services for support if needed.