Academic activities at the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JoSTUM) have been severely disrupted after a collapsed culvert cut off the institution from neighbouring communities in Benue State, leaving thousands of students, staff, and residents stranded.

The culvert, located at Ake River between Antsah and Anini villages, was washed away by heavy rainfall, severing access to JoSTUM, Akawe Torkula Polytechnic, the School of Special Science, and several surrounding communities.

The Director of the Ahmadu Ali Centre for Public Health and Comparative Medicine at JoSTUM, Prof. Mohammed Adah, described the development as a major setback to academic and clinical operations.

"This is a disaster for us. Our Veterinary Teaching Hospital is located at North Bank, while many students take lectures on the main campus. Students on campus can no longer access the teaching hospital, and those at the hospital cannot easily reach campus. We have over 8,000 students and cannot continue this way," he stated.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor for Administration, Prof. Elizabeth Kembe, confirmed that university engagements had been relocated to the Pro Chancellor's guest house due to the road situation.

"Staff and students are now completely cut off from the university. We have resumed academic activities, but many students cannot access the campus. We appeal to the state government to intervene urgently and restore access," she urged.

The university Registrar, Dr. John David, disclosed that people were being charged between N500 and N1,000 to cross via alternative routes since Monday.

"The state government, which owns this road stretching from the junction through these communities to Gbajimba, should urgently repair it. The road has deteriorated significantly over the years," he noted.

An external member of the university council, Dr. Mohammed Kwankwaso, warned that the institution's dependence on a single access road poses serious risks in emergencies and joined calls for immediate intervention.

Youth Leader of Udzer Community, Mr. Benjamin Yogbo, said the disruption had paralysed economic and educational activities across the affected settlements for four consecutive days, with women unable to reach markets and children kept away from school.

Responding to the concerns, the Benue State Project Coordinator of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, Dr. Stephen Numbeve, attributed the delay to two consecutive days of heavy rainfall but assured communities that earth moving equipment had been deployed to the site.

"We are confident that the project will be completed within 21 days and people will use the road without hitches," Numbeve stated.