Students of the University of Port
Harcourt, went on the rampage Tuesday protesting the murder of four of
their colleagues by youths in Omuokiri-Aluu community last Friday set
ablaze no fewer than 12 houses in the community even as the university
has been shut down by the school authorities.
Spokesman
of the university, Dr William Wordi confirmed the closure of the school
to the Vanguard on phone. He assured he was going to send an official
statement. It was yet to come at the time of this report.
Students
from other institutions under the aegis of National Association of
Nigeria Students, NANS, stormed the university yesterday to mobilise
students in Port Harcourt to protest the brutal killing of three of
their colleagues and one other by riotous youths in Omuokiri-Aluu
community last Friday.
The rampaging students blocked the
East-West road for several hours before allegedly marching to
Omuokiri-Aluu community to start wrecking havoc. Community sources told
the Vanguard that the students torched about 12 houses.
Vanguard
gathered that while the rampaging students were on the East West road,
they reportedly insisted that they would only move out of the road after
the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Joseph Ajienka had
addressed them. The vice chancellor reportedly obliged them after
securing assurances that he would not be rough handled.
Students pelt VC with sachet water
Sources
said while the Vice Chancellor came to plead with the students to shun
any temptation to be violent, some of the students immediately started
hurling sachet water at him. Vanguard gathered that it took the timely
intervention of security operatives to whisk him away from the spot. At
press time, security operatives had been drafted to quell the situation.
Meanwhile,
the Rivers State government has condemned the action of the rampaging
students. Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mrs Ibim
Semenitari who spoke to Vanguard yesterday cautioned the students
against taking laws into their hands.
Rivers govt condemns action
While noting that there was no justification for the killing of the
students she added that it was not enough reason for students of the
school to indulge in extrajudicial act.
“There is no
justification, no excuse for the killing. The Uniport students should
not take the laws into their hands”, she pleaded. She further confirmed
that security operatives had moved into the area to maintain law and
order.
In a related development, the Senate condemned the jungle
justice that members of the community carried out where the four
students were hurriedly murdered without trial in the full glare of a
cheering crowd. In honour of the deceased, the Senator observed a minute
silence for them.
The
resolutions followed the motion by Senator Ayogu Eze, PDP, Enugu North
and 90 others condemning the murder of students of the University of
Port Harcourt at Omuokiri Village in Aluu Community of Rivers State on
October 5, 2012.
Meanwhile, Senate President in his remarks made a
U-Turn on his earlier position on state Police, with a call now for the
establishment of state police to augment the already existing federal
Police structure, just as he stressed that unravelling those behind the
Aluu massacre was a challenge for the Police.
Senate President
Mark who had at several fora kicked against the formation of state
police, stressed that against the backdrop of where jungle justice has
become the order of the day, it has become imperative for the
decentralization of the police system.
Mark said: “What has
happened in Aluu is in every sense a condemnable act and we must do so
with all our power, our strength and our might. There is no doubt that
this act is condemnable, we feel for the students who have lost their
lives, we feel for the parents of the students.
“This clearly
shows the merits and demerits of the social media. One thing that has
come out of it is that those who were there can easily be arrested by
the police. The video is there and they can easily be identified and so
they should as quickly as possible bring them to book as a lesson for
others; other wise, another time again we will be sitting here and
debating over some other students who were killed else where or some
Nigerians who are killed somewhere else with impunity we cant allow that
to happen.”
Earlier in his lead debate, Senator Ayogu Eze said,
“the Senate laments the murder by lynching and burning on October 5,
2012 of three 200-level students of the University of Port Harcourt,
Biringa Chiadika Lordson (Theatre Arts), Ugonna Kelechi Obuzor
(Geology), Mike Lloyd Toku (Civil Engineering) and their friend, Tekena
Erikena, all below the age of 22 years;
‘’Condemns the
dehumanizing manner in which these four persons were stripped naked,
marched along like common criminal, battered into stupor and eventually
coma in a most horrifying display of callousness ever captured on
celluloid before setting them ablaze in the full glare of cheering and
enthusiastic spectators and traducers;
‘’Appalled by the flimsy
and yet-to-be substantiated allegation of theft of laptops and
blackberry phones, which as a Student Union activist in the school,
Rhino Owhorkire, himself an indigene of Aluu, scene of the heinous
crime, have not till date been produced as evidence of the trumped up
robbery tale.”
‘’Urges that all the theories adduced as the
reason for this crime, including allegations that the killing was
masterminded to cover up the brutalization the deceased suffered in
trying to recover a debt owed them by an indigene of Aluu, as well as
that the deceased and one other person allegedly at large were
conducting cult rites when they were caught, be thoroughly investigated
for a clue to this descent into barbarism.”
In their
contributions, Senators who spoke expressed total dismay, just as they
condemned the act, describing it as barbaric, and uncalled for.
In
his contribution, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu said, ‘’I
remember saying that whether what happened in Mubi was act of cultism or
Book Haram, it cuts down to the fact that the security agencies have
failed to protect the people. Today, we are talking about four students
killed in Rivers State”. Again, it was lack of security agencies to save
Nigerians that gave rise to that murder.
‘’Whether they stole
phone or were cultists, killing them is condemnable. But I don’t believe
the case of stealing levied against them. One of the boys was known to
me. The parents are well to-do. The boy had Ipad and Blackberry and
would not have gone to steal them. I think it was misunderstanding among
student but taken too far. Committee on Police Affairs should see that
it is investigated.”
Senator Magnus Abe, PDP, Rivers South East
also in contribution said, “No matter what these students were accused
of doing, there is nothing that can justify that kind of action. Even
murderers would not be killed in that manner, if you look across this
country, you will see that any time there is a mob action, nothing
happens.
“After the elections last year, people were killed and
nothing happened. What I would like to say is that we are now facing a
situation where the state is finding it difficult to project its will
and power across the country. It means that we do not have enough
security apparatus to take care of these problems.
“As a Senate,
given the situation we are in, we should look beyond the immediate in
finding solution to the problems we have. We have the video and the
faces of all those watching the barbaric act are there. If we go through
the normal investigative process, most of those people will be
arrested. All those who were watching the incident were co-participants
and should be treated as such.”
For Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma
–Egba, PDP, Cross River Central, ‘’It should worry us, both as a Senate
and a nation that so often, we on the floor of the chambers discuss the
wastage of youthful innocent lives. That is what we discuss, day in, day
out.
“Last week, it was Mubi, today we are discussing that of
Aluu. Every day, lives are being squandered, not just lives but those of
young men and women, who constitute the future of this country.
Consequently, we are squandering the future of this country and the way
we are going, we might end up without a future. And we are squandering
it with impunity.
‘’These people were killed in most bizarre
manner. The moment people were not persecuted for their offences, we
enter into a state of impunity. These killings must remind us, if we
have any belief in tomorrow, if we have any hope for the future, that
something must be done about the impunity in our society. Democracy is
only complete when there is the rule of law. So, we cannot say we have
democracy without the rule of law content.
“People must begin to
pay for their offences and their crimes. What has happened is a collapse
of social values. Our security agencies should do more, but the
business of security in our land today must not be left solely in the
hands of security agents. We must reinvent those values that respected
human lives in the past.
Also condemning the act, Chairman,
Senate Committee on Information, Media and Publicity, Senator Enyinnaya
Abaribe, PDP, Abia South said, ‘’something worries me here and I am sure
it will worry every right thinking Nigerian. I have a little glimpse of
the video and people were laughing, jeering and taking pictures of
other people, who were being slaughtered. It means that everyone who was
at that spot didn’t see it as something that affected them. It also
means that perhaps, we have lost it as a nation to the unending
grievance and unending impunity.
“It doesn’t seem as if there is
any way we can stop this barbaric act. From this report, there was a
police station nearby. Why did they not report the incident to the
Police? It means people have lost faith in the Police; people have also
lost faith in the judiciary.
‘’It appears that there are two
different justices for two different people – where someone was accused
of stealing billions and we sent recommendations to Mr President but
nothing is done and a young man was burnt to death for stealing a
blackberry phone. If there is anything to be done to make statement,
this Senate must do it because this is one too many.
The
footage was shown on the government-owned Nigerian Television
Authority. A reliable source at the network said the clip of the
purported visit was brought to the station by Presidency officials.