The Federal University Dutse has secured two research grants worth N53m from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to tackle banditry in the North and control the spread of mosquitoes across Nigeria.

This was made known in a statement made available to journalists in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, on Tuesday by the university’s Acting Director of Public Affairs, Abdullahi Yahaya.

The statement said the grants were awarded through the TETFund National Research Fund.

According to the Acting Director, the funding would support two major projects aimed at addressing some of the country’s most pressing challenges.

“One project focuses on insecurity, while the other targets public health by controlling mosquitoes,” Yahaya stated.

He explained that Professor Ado Jangargari would lead the research on insecurity.

His project is titled “Tech for Peace: Engaging Northern Pastoralists in Non-Agricultural Livelihoods to Counter Banditry and Kidnapping” and received N25m.

Speaking on the second grant, Yahaya said Professor Joshua Balogun would head the mosquito-control research.

He stated further that the project is titled “Development of Indoor Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Machine (iCor-SeMa) for Diversionary Control of Mosquitoes in Nigeria” and was awarded N28m.

The Acting Director noted that both research projects would run for 24 months.

“The researchers have two years to deliver results that can make real impact in our communities,” he said.

Yahaya added that the Vice-Chancellor of FUD, Professor Ahmad Gumel, had congratulated the two professors on the achievement.

In his remarks, quoted by Yahaya, the Vice-Chancellor urged the lead researchers to strictly adhere to the project timeline.

“Prof. Gumel charged them to ensure timely execution and quality delivery of the research,” Yahaya stated.

The Vice-Chancellor further expressed optimism that more grants were coming to FUD because academic staff had been sensitised to access NRF and other grants around the world.

Accordingly, the statement reads that “the university management is committed to supporting research that addresses national problems.”

The Acting Director also said the university would monitor the projects closely to ensure they met TETFund’s objectives, adding that “We expect outcomes that will benefit not only Jigawa but the entire country.”