The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Students

  • 13 UNILAG students remanded in prison

    13 UNILAG students remanded in prison

    The police on Saturday arraigned 13 University of Lagos (UNILAG) students at a Special Offences Mobile Court in Oshodi, Lagos, over alleged unlawful invasion of Television Continental (TVC) station in Lagos.

    Prosecuting counsel, Effiong Asuquo, who is the Office in Charge, Legal Department of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, said the accused persons committed the offence on Friday.

    He said they invaded the premises of TVC to protest the alleged rustication of one of their students.

    The defendants are: Femi Adeyeye, Toni Aina, Kodri Yaya, Asimi Oladime, Ismahim Olalekan, Segun Okesola, Abdulazeez Soneye, Idris Abogunloko, and Muyiwa Olaniyi.

    Others are Toheed Oladimeji, Joseph Akanni, Lukumon Olusegun, and Abiodun Agbeniyi.

    Asuquo said the students also invaded the UNILAG main campus and disrupted academic activities.

    The prosecutor said the protest was a bid to stop the semester’s examination scheduled to begin on Monday.

    The police said the alleged offence contravenes sections 168 (1) (d) and 2 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015‎.The students were arraigned before Chief Magistrate P.E Nwaka, on two counts bordering on unlawful invasion and disruption of activities.They pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The magistrate ordered their remand at the Kirikiri prison pending their bail hearing on April 6.

  • Governor unhappy over starving students

    Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, has summoned three top management staff of Government Secondary School, Mokwa, for under feeding pupils of the school.

    The governor, who paid an unscheduled visit to the school dining hall during his mid-term assessment tour, expressed sadness that the food meant for 300 pupils was being served to 600 pupils.

    He expressed worries that food provided for the pupils were being siphoned by the school’s members of staff, thereby depriving and starving the intended beneficiaries.

    Bello said the school management was undermining government efforts at ensuring adequate feeding of pupils. He has, therefore, ordered the principal officers involved to appear in his office for  briefing.

    In Agwara, the governor announced the conversion of Government Secondary School, Agwara to boarding one, directing the Commissioner of Education to commence the construction of hostels immediately.

  • Edo students hail Obasanjo at 80

    The University of Benin (UNIBEN) chapter of the National Association of Edo State Students (NAESS) has congratulated former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the occasion of his 80th birthday and commissioning of his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).

    The association, in a statement by its president, Suleiman Abdulahi, eulogised the octogenarian for his “doggedness in the defence of democracy” and “patriotic service” to the nation.

    The statement reads: “The entire Edo State students celebrate Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on the occasion of his 80th birthday. We congratulate him for his patriotic service to Nigeria and Africa at large. We are proud of his achievement during his tenure as president, the hallmark of which remains birth of Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM).”

    Suleiman said the OOPL’s opening was not just a mere celebration of the former president’s public life, but also his achievements and legacies. According the Suleiman, the library would remain a reminder of Obasanjo’s commitment to the unity and progress of the nation.

  • VC warns students against unruly behaviour

    VICE Chancellor, Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos (AUL), Prof Joseph Afolayan, has warned the students of the new  university against bad behaviour.

    Afolayan, who spoke at the maiden matriculation of the institution owned by Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) last week, also warned students against imbibing vices, such as hard drugs, alcohol, immorality, indecent dressing, and stealing, adding that any infraction could attract expulsion.

    On the vision of the institution, Afolayan said: ‘’We are committed to building a university of a global standard and relevance, and this must reflect in every aspect of our life as an institution. Anchor University students must be found proper in character and learning before degree is awarded. In this resolve, the university is poised to put all machinery in place to see that her students are distinct in all ramifications and this we must achieve by the grace of God.’’

    He said the students were expected to exhibit decent lifestyles, adding that being a faith-based institution, it would not compromise standards.

    “There are behaviours and decent lifestyles that are expected of you by the university which you must endeavour to keep. This university will not condone evil vices that are common with the youths today,‘’ Afolayan warned.

    Afolayan urged them to work hard to achieve excellence. He assured them of the institution’s facilities, noting that they are adequate and capable of helping them aquire quality education and reaching their goals.

    He said the university has a masterplan to ensure that it becomes ‘’one of the top five universities in Nigeria in the next 10 years”. To achieve this, he said, the institution would partner other world-class institutions overseas.

    One of the highlights of the ceremony was the installation of General Superintendent of the church, Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi, as  the varsity’s first Chancellor.

    Kumuyi praised the government for licensing private universities. The cleric, who described the government’s action as ‘’a step in the right direction,’ noted that societies develop by the quality of their universities.  ‘’Our nation needs not just functional, but also productive and development-driven universities,’’ Kumuyi noted.

    The institution’s Pro Chancellor S. S. Dada tasked the new students on competence, urging them to ape the qualities of an eagle, which according to him, aim for the altitude, have accurate vision, love the storm, looks for new frontiers to conquer, and tests others’ commitments, among others.

  • LASU gives part-time jobs to students

    The Lagos State University (LASU) students can now take up part-time job, while they pursue their academic careers. Thanks to the job scheme initiated by management to alleviate the financial burden on indigent students in paying their fees.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Lanre Fagbohun, said the job scheme would also give students opportunities to acquire skills that would prepare them for employment after their graduation. He said the aim was to create platforms for students to make legitimate money, while studying.

    The school has announced the first phase of job schemes, which would allow students to be employed as workers in the school library. Students are expected to work for a few hours at various offices and earn wages that would be enough to sustain them through the session. The school is in partnership with the Students’ Union.

    Prof Fagbohun said: “The LASU we are building is one that will become the best university in Africa and part of the things we are doing is to ensure our students learn skills as undergraduates. The part-time job is part of the schemes to equip students with skills that turn around their lives positively. We are looking at other possible areas where our students can learn, work and earn legitimately.”

    Management directed all interested students to send applications to the librarian.

    Praising the management, Students’ Union president, Olawale Kappo, said the scheme would alleviate the challenges of indigent students.

  • Foundation gives 50 Abia students scholarships

    Foundation gives 50 Abia students scholarships

    FOR the over 50 students who gathered for the ceremony, the day will be etched in their memory. It was a day they had  long waited for. They were full of joy as they stepped out to receive full scholarship for their university education.

    Joy Okpanku, a first year student of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Umudike, Abia State was among them. The students from the 17 local government areas of Abia State were given scholarships worth millions of naira by the Adiaso Foundation.

    The ceremony took place at the country home of Chief Chamberline Okechukwu Adiaso in Obichukwu, Obieketta autonomous community in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state.

    It was like a carnival as students, high profile politicians and people from all walks of life gathered at the foundation’s instance in support of higher education.

    Eze Charles Nwamaranna, the traditional ruler of Obieketta and Chairman of the Adiaso Foundation, urged unlucky applicants to wait for another opportunity in subsequent batches of the yearly scheme.

    The scheme, he said, was meant to encourage youths, irrespective of their political orientation or religious background, to actualise their dreams of acquiring higher education.

    Nwamaranna praised the foundation’s sponsor for giving back to the society. “He takes delight in humanitarian services,’’ he said, adding that his footprints have been stamped on grading of roads across his local government area, provision of grants to selected farmers in the state and the provision of free healthcare services to women in the state.

    Adiaso said he derived joy from  helping the needy because there were families that could not train their children in higher institutions.

    He said he has several foundations catering to the need of the less privileged.

    ‘’The two most important things in mylife are my love for God and the downtrodden,’’ he said, adding: “I am worried by the high level of illiteracy in our society and I am determined to help as many people as possible to overcome this debilitating challenge,”

    The philanthropist said he shared some of the traits of President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he said is respected for his honesty. He said: “I am emulating the leadership qualities of President Buhari. He is one president that is not interested in the accumulation of material possessions, but has placed his emphasis on changing the fortunes of the country for the good of all Nigerians.

    Adiaso urged Nigerians to continue to pray for Buhari’s success. “We should not relent in praying that God will grant our President the strength and good health to be able to carry on with his change agenda for the country.’’

    Director-General of Think Nigeria First Initiative, Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni, said Adiaso had done so much for his people, especially in the area of education and agriculture.

    Chairman of the occasion, Chief Allen Nwachukwu praised Adiaso stating: “If we have many people like Chamberline Adiaso in the state, Abia will be like a small London.”

    Abia State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Donatus Nwamkpa, said he was not surprised by Adiaso’s philanthropy, noting: “His thinking always is how he can improve the social and economic life of the less-privileged. He is a man driven by the passion to render service to the people.

    He has demonstrated this in several ways in the past, especially when he donated N100 million to farmers in Abia State.”

    Joy’s father Eze Paul Okpanku said the foundation had helped many in meeting their needs.

     

     

     

  • Kogi varsity students to protest closure

    Barring a last-minute change of plan, the Kogi State University (KSU) students will storm Lokoja, the state capital, to protest the continued closure of their school. The students gave the government 14 days to open the school, or face a protest.

    The school was shut in January, following an indefinite strike declared by the teaching and non-teaching workers over unpaid salaries and arrears.

    The students said the action was necessary to draw attention to their plight as the school may not be re-opened anytime soon.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the KSU Students’ Union led by Philip Omepa, may have planned the protest to clear itself allegations of receiving bribe  from the government to suppress students’ demonstration.

    Omepa dismissed the insinuation, saying the union resolved to embark on the protest if its ongoing effort to broker peace between the government and the school workers fails.

    Omepa said: “There are different approaches to addressing issues relating to strikes. One is consultation, which we have done. The other is dialogue, which we are presently doing. The last resort is confrontation, which we will do if nothing happens by March 31. We have written letters to authorities concerned and attended several meetings in our quest to find positive result. And now we have been assured of the March deadline when all grey areas would have been addressed for students to return to school.”

    The union president stressed that government had promised to end its staff screening and verification exercise, after which it would have time to address industrial action in the state-owned tertiary institutions. He said the government recently reached an agreement with the national leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), who visited the state to mediate in the crisis rocking the school.

    Omepa dismissed the allegation that he received N1 million bribe from government to shelve an earlier scheduled protest, which was slated for March 14, saying the union canceled the planned demonstration because it could be hijacked by miscreants.

    He said: “The protest was not even planned by the union, but we wanted to be part of it. But, there was no adequate security measure to make the protest peaceful. As the president, I have the responsibility to protect students’ lives. I could not afford to lead them in protest ignorantly, knowing that such protest might be hijacked.

    “To show students that we are not sleeping, we have decided that if nothing happens by March 31, we will disrupt activities in Lokoja on April 1. Students will march on the Government House in their numbers to express their grievances in the manner in which education is being crippled in the state.”

    The students’ leader accused Governor Yahya Bello of using Department of State Service (DSS) to intimidate him over an alleged “conspiracy meeting” with Senator Dino Melaye. Omepa was recently invited by the DSS to explain what transpired at the meeting.

    But, the state government denied sending the DSS or any other security agency after the students’ leader, saying the allegation was false.

    An aide to the governor, who did not give his name because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the allegation was far from the truth.

    The aide assured of the governor’s determination to end the strike in the state-owned higher institutions, noting that the recent constitution of Boards for tertiary institutions by the governor was an indication that the government was addressing the issue.

  • Students protest killing of colleague in Lafia

    Students of Government Science School, Lafia on Monday took to the streets to protest the killing of one of their colleagues, allegedly by a family member of a senior government official.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the students, who held green leaves and placards with various inscriptions, marched from the school to the Government House, Lafia, a distance of five kilometres.

    NAN also reports that it took the intervention of the Commissioner for Education, Tijjani Ahmed, and the police, to calm down the enraged students and persuade them to return to the school.

    Addressing the students, Ahmed appealed to them to remain calm and assured them that the culprit would be brought to book.

    “Since the accident happened around 8 p.m. on Sunday, both the management of the school and the state government have not rested.

    “Already, the governor has constituted a committee that will meet with the family of the deceased, to commence burial arrangements,” he said.

    NAN sources indicated that the deceased, whose name was given as Amos Ovey, was killed by a speeding car, when he stepped out of the premises to buy battery for his torch light.

    Confirming the incident, Mr Maikudi Shehu, Police Area Commandant in charge of Lafia Area Command, said that the driver of the car was currently in detention.

    “The driver and the car are in police custody; we want to assure members of the public that we shall dig into the matter and deal with whoever is involved, no matter his position in the society,” he said.

  • Robert Gordon University offers £1.5m scholarship to Nigerian students

    Robert Gordon University (RGU), Scotland, says it is offering 1.5 million pounds scholarships to Nigerian students to study in Aberdeen in the North East of Scotland.
    The university made the announcement in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) by its Senior Communication Officer, Ms Anna Duthie, on Thursday in Abuja.
    Duthie said the scholarship was part of RGU’s commitment to attract top students from across the world to Scotland in order to provide diverse university community and multicultural learning environment.
    She added that the scholarships were in different categories ranging from 500 to 15,000 pounds.
    According to her, the scholarships have variety of forms such as offering of discount on courses, funding of first year of study and covering of full cost of degrees.
    “Talented students from around the globe have the opportunity to benefit from a number of scholarships being offered by RGU across a wide range of subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate level courses,’’ she said.
    Duthie quoted Prof. David Ashall, Dean of Students’ Recruitment, RGU as saying, “Promoting international diversity is hugely important to the university community.
    “We are proud to offer highly valuable scholarship opportunities to students from around the globe.
    “Our scholarship opportunities exist to attract the most talented and hard working professionals from around the world to RGU and help to ease the financial implications of studying overseas.
    “Scotland welcomes thousands of international students from more than 130 countries each year, we want to build on this by attracting more students to study at RGU.
    “Promoting what is at the very core of the RGU ethos – inclusion and multiculturalism”.
    Duthie disclosed that RGU also participates in a number of national scholarships such as the British Council India, ‘GREAT’ Scholarship programme, in addition to its own scholarship offerings and industry funded bursaries,
    She said that the scholarship would provide 10,000 pounds funding to international students seeking to study Architecture, Computer Science, Engineering, Pharmacy and Life sciences subjects.
    According to her, RGU is an associate of Scotland’s Saltire Scholarship Scheme.
    “The scholarship sees the university and the Scottish Government jointly fund of 4,000 pounds study bursaries for citizens and permanent residents of China, Canada, Hong Kong, India and Pakistan.
    “More information about RGU wide range of scholarship offering and application can be accessed through its website, www.rgu.ac.uk/scholarships,’’ she said. (NAN)

  • Six Unilag students charged with gang-rape, get N6m bail

    Six Unilag students charged with gang-rape, get N6m bail

    Six students of the University of Lagos (Unilag), who allegedly gang-raped a 17-year-old female colleague, were on Wednesday granted reprieve by a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

    They were released on a N6 million bail.

    The accused are — Simeon Omowole, 18; Randy Chukka, 17; Samuel Oyefara, 18; Peter Adeboyega, 17; Chuka Chukwu, 19; and Peace Nwakanma, 18 (a female) — pleaded not guilty to a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, rape and sexual harassment.

    The prosecutor, Sgt. Anthonia Osayande, told the court that the offences were committed sometime in January at High-Rise, University of Lagos.

    ‎She alleged that that the accused with another man still at large conspired and raped a 17-year-old fellow student (name withheld).

    Osayande said that Nwakanma, the only female among the accused persons, was the one that lured the girl to where she was raped.

    “The six students sexually harassed the girl with video clips in order to intimidate her.

    “They all had sexual intercourse with the 17-year-old without her consent,’’ she said.

    The offences contravened Sections 137, 140, 260 (2), 264 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 (revised).

    ‎The Chief Magistrate, Mrs A. Ipaye-Nwachukwu, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500, 000 each with two sureties each in like sum.
    ‎
    Ipaye said one of the sureties must be a blood relation of the accused, while the second surety should be a civil servant of not less than Grade Level 14.

    She also directed the sureties to provide an evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    ‎The magistrate adjourned the case to May 18 pending advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions. (NAN)