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Tag: Niger Delta University (NDU)

  • How my gang killed 17-year-old varsity student in Bayelsa – Cultist

    …31 cultists arrested for murder, armed robberies

     

    A confessed cultist, Junior Daumunabo, Tuesday admitted that his gang was responsible for the killing of 17-year-old 100 level student of the Niger Delta University (NDU), Seifa Fred.

    Daumunabo, who was among 31 cultists paraded at the state police command, Yenagoa, for murder, robberies and other crimes, however, claimed he did not partake in the operation that killed Seifa.

    Read Also:Police arraign suspected cultists terrorising Lagos community

    The 20-year-old, who is a member of the Greenland cult group, said his gang was always in the habit of attacking people within Yenagoa and collecting their android phones.

    But he said that he refused to join in the operation that killed Seifa because he was scared the deceased could identify his face.

    He said while his gang members embarked on the evil mission, he sat close to one supermarket in Amarata to wait for them.

    “When they came back, they said they killed the girl and l asked why? They told me the girl was dragging the phone with them and they shot her. I didn’t shoot her. I didn’t follow them in the operation”, he said.

    When asked to name his gang members that shot the innocent teenager, he identified them as Richman and Enemor.

    He, however, said he was arrested with a locally-made pistol in another operation he embarked upon with two other cultists to rob people of their phones.

    “We were three going to steal phones and we were in a tricycle. Suddenly, members of the Bayelsa Vigilant Service appeared. Two others with me ran away. I was caught in the process. They retrieved the gun from my hand. I have been robbing phones,” he said.

    Parading the suspects, the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, said the crimes committed in the state were driven by cultism and abuse of illicit drugs.

    He said Daumunabo, whose gang killed Seifa, was assisting the police to arrest other fleeing members of his group.

  • How my gang killed 17-year old varsity student in Bayelsa – Cultist

    31 cultists arrested for murder, armed robberies 

    A confessed cultist, Junior Daumunabo,on Monday admitted that his gang was responsible for the killing of 17-year-old 100 level student of the Niger Delta University (NDU), Seifa Fred.

    Daumunabo, who was among 31 cultists paraded at the state police command, Yenagoa, for murder, robberies and other crimes, however, claimed he did not partake in the operation that killed Seifa.

    The 20-year-old, who is a member of the Greenland cult group, said his gang was always in the habit of attacking people within Yenagoa and collecting their android phones.

    But he said that he refused to join in the operation that killed Seifa because he was scared the deceased could identify his face.

    He said while his gang members embarked on the evil mission, he sat close to one supermarket in Amarata to wait for them.

    “When they came back, they said they killed the girl and l asked why? They told me the girl was dragging the phone with them and they shot her. I didn’t shoot her. I didn’t follow in the operation”, he said.

    Read Also: ‘We won’t surrender Bayelsa to failed politicians’

    When asked to name his gang members that shot the innocent teenager, he identified them as Richman and Enemor.

    He, however, said he was arrested with a locally-made pistol in another operation he embarked upon with two other cultists to rob people of their phones.

    “We were three going to steal phones and we were in a tricycle. Suddenly, members of the Bayelsa Vigilant Service appeared. Two others with me ran away. I was caught in the process. They retrieved the gun from my hand. I have been robbing phones”, he said.

    Parading the suspects, the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, said the crimes committed in the state were driven by cultism and abuse of illicit drugs.

    He said Daumunabo, whose gang killed Seifa, was assisting the police to arrest other fleeing members of his group.

    He said the Command Clearance Squad (CCS) also arrested one Funkeye John Timbofa, 24, in connection with armed robbery and murder of a police corporal, Sammy Saturday attached to the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU).

    He said the suspects involved in the crime led the police to arrest other members of his gang, Evans Kuro, Taye Paul and Diepreye Ogbulafor, who confessed to the killing.

    The police chief said following the prevalence of cultism and armed robberies, he embarked on community engagements with traditional rulers, youth bodies, community development committees and vigilant groups.

    Mukan said he had also scheduled meetings with other stakeholders such as the press, civil society groups, non-governmental organisations and traders’ associations among others.

    He said: “As counter security measures, we will intensify our operations on hideouts of armed robbers and cultists. We will continue to carry out targeted raids on criminals hideouts and conduct stop and search operations.

    “We have made it clear to the stakeholders that these cultists and criminals  are not coming from outside Bayelsa. They live with us. They know them and they are their children. 

    “So, there is a need for us to collectively fight this crime because crime is everybody’s responsibility. Fortunately, they responded by giving us every cooperation by identifying some of these criminals”.

  • Commission probes killings in Bayelsa varsity community

    The six-member Commission of Inquiry set up by the Bayelsa State government to look into the civil disturbances that claimed some lives in Amassoma, host community of the Niger Delta University (NDU), has commenced sitting.
    It was gathered that the commission at the weekend continued hearing on the crisis at at the Multi-Door Court House, High Court Complex, Ovom, Yenagoa, the state capital.
    The Bayelsa State Goveror Seriake Dickson inaugurated the commission following  the crisis that engulfed Amassoma, host community of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU).
    The commission was mandated to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the civil disturbances that occurred in and around Amassoma.
    During the riot, about five persons were reportedly killed and many persons injured  in the violent clash which occurred between security operatives and indigenes of the university town in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.
    The governor gave the commission a nine-point terms of reference including the identification of the perpetrators of the unlawful acts and their sponsors and to determine the extent of damage to property, both public as well as private, if any during the incident.
    He also urged the commission to recommend measures aimed at averting future occurrences of such incidents within and around the NDU and its host communities, as well as make any other recommendations that might be deemed fit in the circumstances.
    The Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, Mr. Michael Zuokumor, Deputy Inspector General of Police (retd.), said relevant stakeholders turned up for the hearing on Monday.
    He said some persons submitted their memoranda including the Vice-Chancellor, NDU, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo.
    Zuokumor added that the commission was not going to work on memoranda alone but would take oral evidences to ascertain the truth of what transpired during the incident.
    He said: “There were some disturbances in Amassoma community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The road to the Niger Delta University was blocked; there was so much violence and the university was seriously looted.

    Read also: Obasanjo’s medical tourism in Bayelsa

    “From what learnt, lives were even lost. The essence of this commission is a fact-finding one to look into the issues that happened. The commission is not to indict anybody but to ascertain what happened so that we can do whatever we can prevent such from happening again in the state.
    “We have received memoranda from the university and from other persons; we do not work on memoranda alone. This is fact-finding; we also take oral evidences. The strict rules of criminal trial does not take place here since it is fact-finding. But in order for people not to mislead us, they are meant to swear to an oath.”

  • Three shot as protesters, security operatives clash in Bayelsa varsity

    Three persons were on Tuesday feared killed following a clash between security operatives and kinsmen of late former Governor Diepreye Alamiyeiseigha in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State.

    The clash, which reportedly started in the morning at the gate of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), was said to have left many people injured.

    It was gathered that the university community was thrown into tension as sporadic gunshots and fired teargas canisters caused panic among the residents.

    The problem was said to have started when a detachment of armed security operatives, who arrived the community early in the morning, forcefully opened the gate of the troubled school.

    The school was shut down by aggrieved community women, whose names were removed from NDU’s payroll after they were indicted by the ongoing public sector reforms of Governor Seriake Dickson.

    The women, who insisted that their names must be returned to the payroll against civil service rules, were said to have hired the services of a welder to permanently seal the university’s gate.

    To find an amicable resolution to the issues, the government recently dispatched a team of negotiators led by the Chief of Staff, Talford Ongolo and the Commissioner for Education to meet with the protesters and the host community.

    It was gathered that among the resolutions of the parley were agreements that the university should review the fate of the sacked workers and suspend the protest to allow academic activities resume in the university.

    Despite the agreements, the host community continued with its protest refusing to unseal the gate of NDU.

    The protesters including women and youths were said to be angry when they woke up in the morning to discover that the school’s gate was forcefully opened and surrounded by scores of heavily armed security operatives.

    Read Also: Bayelsa govt decries decline in federal allocation to states

    They were said to have regrouped in their numbers and marched towards the gate to confront the security men.

    A source from the community who spoke in confidence said: “The security operatives including the police, soldiers and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were overwhelmed by the crowd rushing towards them.

    “They first retreated into the premises of the university and called for reinforcement. Later they started throwing teargas canisters at them and shooting at the protesters. Many were injured and about three persons were shot. They were feared dead but were immediately rushed to the hospital”.

    A lecturer from the university who also spoke in confidence said Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were deployed to reinforce security at the troubled community.

    “Some persons have been shot by security operatives following protest by women and some youths on the forceful reopening of the NDU school gate”, he said.

    A student doctor at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) said one of the shot victims was brought to the Accident and Emergency ward of the hospital.

    Some leaders from Southern Ijaw condemned the use of force to address the issues in the school and its host community.

    A former Acting Governor of the state, Chief Nestor Binabo, asked security operatives to apply caution insisting that the problem could only be resolved by sustained dialogue between the community and the government.

    Binabo urged security operatives to immediately leave Amassoma community to avoid further bloodshed in the area.

    He said: “This whole issue shouldn’t have been allow to escalate to this level. Security operatives including soldiers have no business in this matter.

    “It should have been resolved by appeal to conscience and dialogue between the school management and the host community.

    “It is condemnable that it has resulted in loss of lives and injuries to my kinsmen. Efforts should be made to withdraw the security operatives to avoid further bloodshed”.

    The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Don Awunah, was said to have led a team of senior police officers to the scene of the crisis.

  • Dickson applauds accreditation of 10 courses in NDU

    Dickson applauds accreditation of 10 courses in NDU

    Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has applauded the leadership of the state-owned Niger-Delta University (NDU) for securing full accreditation of 10 courses by the National University Commission (NUC).

    Dickson made the commendation when the Acting Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, presented to the governor the NUC’s 2017 May/June Accreditation report in Yenagoa.

    Dickson said in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, on Thursday in Yenagoa, that the government had released N200 million to enhance academic activities in the institution.

    He said he had directed the vice chancellor to liaise with the state Ministry of Education for the release of the balance of N21 million.

    “This government will spare no effort and resources, working with the university team, to ensure that NDU becomes one of the best universities in the country.”

    Dickson urged students seeking admission into universities in the country, to consider NDU, adding that the state government would continue to support the school to enhance learning.

    Earlier, while presenting the report, Edoumiekumo said the accreditation of 10 programmes was a feat in the institution’s history.

    According to him, some of the accredited courses are Law, Medical Laboratory Science and Mechanical Engineering.

  • Students lock down Bayelsa varsity over fees’ hike

    Students lock down Bayelsa varsity over fees’ hike

    The Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island, was, Monday, shut down by students following what they described as outrageous increase in all categories of fees in the school.

    The aggrieved students were said to have shut the gate to the main entrance of the school in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw, stopping vehicular movement into the campus.

    The protest, which coincided with an indefinite strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) reportedly, crippled academic and social activities on campus.

    The students were said to be angry over hike in school fees, electronic course registrations and non-inclusion of students’ representation in decision-making.

    The demonstration, which was led by the President of the Student Union Government (SUG), Mr. Kemes Mitin, was said to be peaceful without skirmishes.

    The students lamented that the school authority was gradually turning the state university into a private institution in its quest to raise revenue.

    For instance, they cried out that the electronic registration per course which was hitherto N1000 had been increased to N4200.

    The demonstrators carried placards with messages such as, “NDU is not a private institution”, “we say no to increment of course registration” and “return e-pin for course registration to N1000”.

    Confirming the demonstration, Mitin said the action was to peacefully tell the school management to halt the increase because the students could not afford them.

    On the strike declared by ASUU, the Port-Harcourt Zonal Chairman of the union, Prof. Beke Sese, confirmed that the zone including NDU fully complied with the nationwide action.

    Sese said: “My immediate job is make sure that all chapters join in the strike action.

    We in the Port-Harcourt zone have intermittently warned government in the past of some gross inadequacies in remunerations and infrastructural development of the universities, including non-payment of salaries.

    “Just like the national body said, there shall be no teaching, no examination and no attendance of statutory meetings of any kind in any of our branches till government meets the union’s demands.”

     

  • Niger Delta University: Students lament hike in fees

    Niger Delta University: Students lament hike in fees

    Students of the Bayelsa government- owned Niger Delta University (NDU) at Amasoma have decried increase in school fees and other levies in the university, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    Some of the students, who bemoaned the increment describing it as outrageous, insensitive and anti-masses, predicted that many indigent students would drop out of school as their parents would not be able to pay.

    NAN reports that the government and the university’s management increased school fees by over 200 per cent for both Arts and Science students.

    For instance, second year students of the Faculty of Nursing who paid the sum of N37, 000 as school fees last year would now pay N100, 000.

    The increase in fees at the NDU is sequel to a new policy of the state government which had directed the university to fend for itself and stop depending on subventions from the government.

    The students, however, expressed fears that the upward review of school fees could have serious security implications for the state and the Niger Delta region already battling with the challenge of militancy and other social vices.

    They complained that most of their parents who were civil servants in the state did not receive salary regularly.

    The aggrieved students wondered where the government expected their sponsors to get the resources when it was not meeting its obligations to the workers in the state.

    Agbogidi Emomotimi, President of National Union of Bayelsa State Students (NUBSS), appealed to the government and the university management to review the fees downward to avert mass dropouts.

    Emomotimi said many students owed school fees for the previous academic sessions, the reason for which semester examination results had not been released.

    “One thing we must understand is that the Ijaw man is one generation backward educationally. That’s why the Niger Delta University was established so that the Ijaw man can go to university even without money.

    “We are shocked that the restoration government of Governor Seriake Dickson that declared a state of emergency on education can increase school fees to this extent.

    “Even last year when school fees was N29,000, over 50 per cent of NDU students could not pay their school fees up to this academic session.

    “That’s why results have not been released. There will be a lot of school drop-outs if these high fees are not changed,” he said.

    v

  • Niger Delta University wins inter-varsity debate

    Niger Delta University wins inter-varsity debate

    Niger Delta University (NDU) has won the first inter-university political debate for undergraduates of political science in Nigerian universities in the South-South zone.

    The theme of the debate was “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) And African Development Agenda.”

    The competition was hosted by Federal University, Otuoke (FUO), which also participated alongside University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) and the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt.

    The NDU, represented by Jonah Pius, Moses Diton, Fano Deseye Jennifer and Orufa Dan Woyengikuro, scored a cumulative 237.7 points to win the trophy, while FUO got 233.8 points, IAUE got 227.4 points and UNIPORT had 225.6.

    The Coordinator of the NDU team, Dr Philips Okolo, handed over the trophy to the Vice Chancellor of NDU, Prof. Humphrey Ogoni, during a presentation ceremony at the V-C’s Conference Room on Friday.

    Okolo, who described the debate as “fierce”, challenged the debating students not to be inhibited by the poor state of infrastructure in the university but deliver the intellect and academic content deposited in them by lecturers of the department.

    He expressed delight that the school won the competition “in spite of the challenges of lack of logistics and time constraint as NDU is midway into semester examinations.”

    The vice chancellor of NDU, while receiving the trophy, lauded the students for being good ambassadors of the university.

    Present at the occasion were NDU’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Admin), Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Ibaba S. Ibaba.

     

  • Pastor, three others die in Bayelsa crash

    A pastor identified as Adama and three other persons have been feared dead in a motors accident that occurred along the Ammassoma-Yenagoa road in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered that many others sustained various degrees of injuries in the crash that happened at about 3pm on Sunday.

    Among the injured casualties was a 300-level student of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Miss Debora Willimor.

    Willimor had a broken leg and was rushed to the Gloryland Medical Centre but was later relocated to a traditional bone healer by her family.

    Eyewitnesses said that the accident involved a 14-seater bus and a private car adding that over-speeding and reckless overtaking caused the crash.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Butwat Asinim, who confirmed the incident gave the registration number of the bus and the car as Yen 279 KA AU 162 USL.

    He said the vehicles were involved in head-on collision.

    Bayelsa Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) could not give details of the accident as most of its personnel said they were yet to visit the accident scene.

    But Butswat said one person was confirmed dead on the spot.

    One of the survivors of the accident, identified as Miss Tare, a clerical officer at the Federal University, Otuoke said they were returning to Yenagoa from Amasoma when the incident happened.

    She thanked God for surviving the accident.

  • Hold FG responsible for strike, says ASUU

    Hold FG responsible for strike, says ASUU

    …Bayelsa varsity deserted

     

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Wednesday, asked parents, students and other stakeholders to direct their grievances against the strike declared by the union to the Federal Government.

    Speaking through its chapter in the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), ASUU insisted that the industrial action was for the best interest of development of tertiary education in the country.

    Investigations revealed that NDU chapter of ASUU complied fully with the strike as lecturers’ deserted classrooms and their offices.

    Students were also seen leaving the campus with their luggage in droves following stoppage of all academic activities in the school.

    Addressing a press conference at the school’s auditorium, the NDU chapter Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Stanley Ogoun, said the union would resist any attempt by politicians, who had started the business of running private universities, to kill public institutions.

    He said the docility of stakeholders was the reason why state governments and politicians destroyed primary and secondary schools.

    Ogoun said: “We call on students, parents and the ordinary people of Nigeria to understand that our actions are geared towards resisting and frustrating the attempt by the ruling class to commercialize and privatize university education in Nigeria.

    “We will resist every attempt to kill the university system the way they killed primary and secondary schools. If we fail to stand on the side of truth, posterity will not forgive us.

    “Before now, we were receiving subventions to run the universities, but now they are withdrawing the subventions. Most state universities are almost grounded why political actors are floating private universities”, he said.

    He said the Federal Government jettisoned agreements it reached with the union adding that the 2009 agreement was to be reviewed every three years.

    Ogoun said: “The current state of the economy is manmade and the government of the day must live up to its responsibilities by initiating policy options that would move us out of our current economic state, except the government is bereft of ideas”.

    Explaining the series of strikes embarked upon by the union in 2009 and 2013, he lamented that most aspects of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the government had not been implemented.

    He said: “For the avoidance of doubt, this current action is compelled by failure of negotiations and several entreaties from our union since 2004 till date and the current trend in some states where staff salaries are sacrificed on the altar of other exigencies”.

    He listed the reasons behind the strike as non-release of funds for revitalization of public universities; non-release of subventions to state universities by the visitors and non-payment of staff salaries and  refusal to issue license for the registration of the Nigerian University Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO).

    Others according to him were refusal to pay Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); shortfall in salaries leading to payment of fractions of staff salaries; non-payment of salaries of staff in the staff primary schools and exemption of universities from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).