•NANS, SERAP, Atiku demand immediate release of detained AAU students
•State govt to release bona fide AAU students
•Ekpoma DPO redeployed
The Edo State Government, yesterday, alleged that the Ekpoma protest was not just a protest but a well-organised riot sponsored by Nigerians resident in Russia and other locations overseas.
This was contained in a statement issued by Patrick Ebojele, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Monday Okpebholo. Ebojele, in the statement, dismissed as false and misleading several social media reports about the recent incidents in Ekpoma, describing such information as part of a coordinated attempt to misinform the public and destabilise the state.
The CPS disclosed that security agencies have already identified the masterminds, who allegedly contacted several individuals in Ekpoma, proposing sponsoring the organisation of coordinated riots across Ekpoma, Auchi, Irrua and even the Government House, Benin City, with funding from the diaspora.
Regarding the involvement of students from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, in the protest, the government stated that those arrested and facing prosecution in connection with the violence were indeed students of the institution, emphasising that their arrest was based on available information. It stressed that AAU is currently closed, noting that all students vacated their hostels long before the incident.
“Those arrested were intercepted while allegedly heading to vandalise property on campus, while others were faces identified on the viral video of the incident showing various acts of arson carried out,” the statement reads. According to the statement, most of the arrests were based on clear evidence, including a video showing acts of violence and destruction.
MEANWHILE, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has condemned the continued detention of 52 students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, who peacefully protested against the rising cases of kidnapping and insecurity affecting students and their host communities.
NANS spokesperson, Adeyemi Samson Ajasa, in a statement yesterday, said it was ridiculous, unacceptable, and deeply disturbing that students who exercised their constitutional right to peaceful protest were now being subjected to psychological trauma, intimidation, and the harsh experience of detention.
According to him, peaceful protest is not a crime, saying that demanding safety should never be met with repression.
“NANS categorically states that the government, the management of Ambrose Alli University, and the Nigeria Police Force must jointly ensure that nothing happens to any of the detained students. Their safety, physical and mental well-being must be guaranteed at all times.
“We further demand the immediate and unconditional release of all 52 students. Any attempt to delay, manipulate, or justify their continued detention will be viewed as a deliberate act of oppression against the Nigerian student community.”
The student body said it will not hesitate to mobilise and take all lawful steps necessary should these students not be released immediately and unconditionally.
Also, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has appealed to the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, and other relevant authorities to secure the immediate and unconditional release of the 52 AAU Ekpoma
ALSO, the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, criticised the President Bola Tinubu-led administration over what he described as intolerance and high-handedness, following the detention of AAU students, who were protesting against rising insecurity, before suspected hoodlums hijacked the demonstration, leaving traders attacked and vehicular movement crippled.
Atiku, in a post shared on his X account, described the detention of the students as unacceptable, noting that the students have the right to protest as enshrined in the constitution.
CONSEQUENTLY, the Edo State Government has disclosed that bona fide students of the AAU, who were remanded in the Correctional Centre, will be released.
The state Commissioner for Education, Dr Paddy Iyamu, made the disclosure in Ubiaja, Esan South-East Local Council Area, where he went to facilitate the release of the students.
Iyamu, who said bona fide students of the institution would walk home free after all processes were perfected, disclosed that the protest in Ekpoma was orchestrated by a group identified as the ‘Comrade Association’.Iyamu noted that the ‘Comrade Association’ comprised former students who used any opportunity to cause mayhem.
HOWEVER, the State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, has ordered the redeployment of the Ekpoma Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and approved the posting of CSP Tomofe Nwabueze as the new DPO.
In a statement, the command’s spokesperson, Eno Ikoedem, said Nwabueze was expected to assume office with immediate effect. The Guardian gathered that the restructuring of the Ekpoma Police Division, in Esan West Local Council Area of the state, may not be unconnected to the rising insecurity in the area.
