Police in Mbale has in custody four students of Islamic University in Uganda-IUIU for alleged drug abuse and suspected possession of narcotics. The suspects include three Nigerian nationals and a Ugandan.
Mbale District Police Commander, Godwin Ochaki identifies the suspect as Mohammad Abdul, Yahya Suleiman Babangida and Faisal Muhammad Babullo, all Nigerians. The other suspect is Ashraf Mbuubi, a Ugandan from Bunyole.
The group was picked up from Chrysolite Guest House in Mbale town during an afternoon police raid. Ochaki explains that they picked up the suspects on a tip off from one the guest house staff. According to Ochaki, during the operation police recovered a pot of Shisha and a large amount of unspecified narcotics, which the DPC says they intend to send to the national analytical laboratory.
Ochaki also says they will investigate the suspects for possible terrorism since they found them with several photos of men in military uniform.
Janet Haumba, the manager Chrysolite Guest House, says the suspects have been occupying the same room for the past five months but started behaving in a suspicious manner recently.
"One of them (Faisal Muhammad Babullo) paid Shillings 800,000 for five months but I didn't realize that he had sneaked his colleagues into the room, I only learnt of it from one of the staff on Saturday," Haumba said.
She says the suspects have been defying the guest house policy, which requires them to leave behind keys to their room. Once the claims are proved to be true, the students risk expulsion from IUIU, which runs under strict Islamic principles.
These among others bar students from drinking alcohol and engaging in immoral acts. The university management has not yet commented on the arrest of the students. The IUIU Guild Coordinator, Haji Abas Samali, said the University has one stand on students found to be in conflict with the law.
"We are only waiting for police to hand them over to us and there is nothing to debate about other than expelling them, for foreign students we shall have them deported." Samali said.
Adding that "So far 20 students have been expelled by the University for offences related to alcoholism and drug abuse."
IUIU runs under strict Islamic principles. These among others bar students from drinking alcohol and engaging in immoral acts.
