Akwa Ibom Poly students protest police brutality, insecurity

Students of Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, have protested against police brutality and insecurity of life and property affecting students along the streets in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.

The students, who were led by the Student Union (SUG) President, Comrade Geoffrey George, gathered at the school gate at 8:15 a.m. with different placards bearing inscriptions such as “End Police Brutality Now,” “Protect, Save, Don’t Abuse,” and “This Extortion Must Stop,” among others.

Speaking at the Polytechnic Campus on Monday, the SUG President, Comrade Geoffrey George, recalled how students have suffered at the hands of the police and hoodlums within the community.

Last week, a trending video on social media showed a student of the institution being beaten and dragged, rolling on the ground by policemen.

“Students face extortion by policemen in Ikot Ekpene. We are not safe, especially those students living in the communities within the school environment.

“Hoodlums snatch phones from students and even kill them. We have buried more than five students in the last year. They were killed by thieves who broke into their houses, collected their phones, and killed them while the police looked the other way.”

One of the student activists, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the protest must continue to draw government attention to the plight of students in the institution.

“The Rector called SUG executives this morning and warned that the protest should not continue, but we say no because our students are in danger,” he said.

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“Nobody will stop us. We must cry out for the world to know that the police are not helping us here. Our colleagues are dying while they are busy extorting money from poor students.”

However, the State Commissioner, Baba Mohammed Azare, refused to pick up calls from The Guardian, nor did he respond to text messages. No matter how many calls were put through to the CP, he neither picked up nor responded to messages, even in times of danger.