Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 3:33 PM3:33 PM Message starred [uniuyo_alumni_lagos] UNIUYO students indict management over crisis, accuse police of killing student Hide Details From Bassey Udo To uniuyo_alumni_lagos@yahoogroups UNIUYO students indict management over crisis, accuse police of killing student premiumtimesng/regional/140884-uniuyo-students-indict-management-over-crisis-accuse-police-of-killing-student.html University of Uyo The students were protesting the high fare of campus taxi, amongst others. The students of the University of Uyo have put the blame squarely on the Comfort Ekpo-led management of the institution for the June 12, 2013 crisis, which saw key offices, including those of the Vice Chancellor and Student Records, razed, The students also accused the police of killing their colleague, Kingsley Udoette, a 200-level Zoology student, whose death was the only fatality recorded in the protest, and detaining 44 other students over alleged phantom charges of arson and murder. The students, who made the allegations in a report on the incident by the President of the Student Union Government, Luckyimoh Inyang, identified marginalisation of student leaders opinions, highhandedness, negligence of student’s welfare, dictatorial tendencies, lack of communication and consultation in decision making, as well as intimidation and implementation of obnoxious policies by the school management as some of the factors that fuelled the crisis. “In recent years, management has wielded virtually unchecked authority, successfully intimidating students and student leaders with the threat of terminating their studentship whenever they dare to express their dissent with the views of the university management,” the student leader said in the report, a copy of which was sent to PREMIUM TIMES. “The management has since become highly unreasonable and dictatorial, consistently ignoring the reports and recommendations of Student Union leaders as mere feeble whining and the cries of the Nigerian students as songs that make no meaning,” he added. Mr. Inyang identified some of those unpopular decisions implemented by the school management to include a recent policy directing that students’ registration should close within one month of resumption, while defaulters are compelled to pay a penalty of between N2000 to N5000. Other decisions, which the students found objectionable included refusal to provide a befitting Student Union secretariat; rejection of a health insurance scheme initiated by the student leadership and; unilateral introduction of an inter-campus bus shuttle service despite objections by the students leadership over the fare. The SUG President said following the introduction of the student registration policy, his administration had drawn the attention of the school management to the difficulties associated with the process, including the problems of slow servers, inadequate staff at the receiving banks and unreliable internet connections, which combined to frustrate students from making payments on time. Besides, he said, the students drew the attention of the authorities to the deplorable economic realities in the country which deterred a significant number of their colleagues, most of whom are self-sponsored, from affording their fees within the stipulated period and the need for a review. Rather than heed their suggestion, Mr. Inyang said, management’s decision to go ahead resulted in most of the students spending several hours of valuable lecture time on queues to make the payment; while others who could not afford the fees within the period lost the entire academic session. On the June 12 protest, the president said the action, which lasted for over eight hours, began as a peaceful march, but degenerated due to the school management’s refusal to take the student leaders into confidence and to address the students and reassure them on their grievances over the new transport policy. He denied involvement of the student leadership in the decision to introduce the controversial bus shuttle service contrary to claims by the school management, pointing out that though a committee, which included two student representatives, was constituted to work out modalities for the scheme, unknown to the students, the management had already reached an agreement with the company (AA Rescue Ltd) to run the service and the fare. Prior to the introduction of the service, he said students had made it clear to management that the ideal one-way fare was N50, but it was ignored, with school insisting on N100. He added that they were surprised at reports by the school that the student union was part of the decision to impose N200 on the students. Mr. Inyang blamed the June 12 crisis on the management, saying had it consented to the students demand for audience on the day of protest to review the draconian transport policy; there would not have been any problem. He pointed out that the situation was aggravated by management’s invitation of the police to quell a peaceful protest. “The police in their intervention fired live ammunition in an attempt to disperse the protesting students. They also fired teargas into the annex and town campuses. As a result Comr. Kingsley Udoette a 200 level Zoology Student was shot dead, while other students sustained various levels of injuries,” he said. While calling on the federal and state governments, particularly President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the visitor to the institution; Akwa Ibom governor, Godswill Akpabio; and other well meaning groups and individuals to intervene and bring immediate resolution, the students called for a thorough investigation of the killing of their colleague and prosecution of perpetrators. They also called on the police to release 44 students currently being in connection with the protest. Last month, the school’s immediate past chief of security, Okon Nyong, in a report to the National Universities Commission, NUC, on the incident, called for a broad inquiry into serious allegations of negligence and fraud against the Vice Chancellor, Comfort Ekpo; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Okon Ansa; and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic. Paul Ekwere. Mr. Nyong had alleged that the sloppy response to protest by the school management was deliberate to stir a crisis that would provide the environment to raze documents and other materials that could prove implicating in the event of investigation against the management for corruption. A new date is yet to be fixed for resumption of the school while the police have said they are investigating the June 12 crisis.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:32:05 +0000
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