Madonna varsity denies panic withdrawal of students

The Vice Chancellor of Madonna University, Nigeria, Prof. Chuks Ezedum on Tuesday in Abuja dismissed as false reports that parents and guardians were demanding the withdrawal of their wards from the institution.

Some media reports had alleged that the development was as a result of ongoing trial of some students and former students of the institution in a Federal High Court following some online publications made against the university.

The Vice Chancellor told newsmen that the reported panic was false, malicious and a figment of the imagination of the peddlers. He said there was never a single parent requesting the withdrawal of any student, adding that all the university’s staff and students were engaging in very productive learning in a safe environment.

Ezedum noted that the fake news were invented by families and allies of the students and former students who were charged to court by the Inspector General of Police. He pointed out that Madonna University did not charge anybody to court, noting that the matter was not in any way between the accused persons and the university.

He also used the opportunity to berate the purported ultimatum issued to the university by some officials of the ​National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South East zone. The Vice Chancellor said the NANS officials ought to have known that Madonna University, being a private university has nothing to do with NANS. 

Also speaking, the immediate past president of Madonna University, Nigeria Alumni Association Worldwide who also is a member of the Alumni Association’s Board of Trustees, Mr. Chima Achu, dismissed the purported panic by parents as fake news. 

Achu collaborated the information given by the Vice Chancellor to the effect that no student or former student of the university is being prosecuted by the university in any court. He also confirmed that there was absolute peace in all the campuses of the university, pointing out that the persons under trial were being prosecuted by the Federal Government for alleged malicious and false publications. 

The spokesperson of the university, Mr. Martin Anagboso, wondered why any right-thinking person hiding under the guise of NANS would want to run down the reputation of the university. He added that the accused persons should focus on their matter and if they claim to be innocent, they should prove same to the court.