The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Rivers State, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, yesterday revealed the identities of the four students lynched at Omuokiri-Aluu in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area on Friday.
In a strong but emotional tone, Ajienka declared that nobody had the right to engage in extra-judicial killing or resort to self-help, no matter the level of provocation. Whatever was the grievance of the mob, said the professor, it should have been reported to the police.
A visibly angry Ajienka, at a news conference in UNIPORT, declared a seven-day mourning for the students and cancelled the Students’ Union Week, which was scheduled to have started yesterday. Flags are to be flown at half mast.
The news conference was also attended by UNIPORT’s Chief Security Officer, Lt. Col. Reginald Isiguzo (rtd.) and other members of the management staff, who expressed sadness over the murder of the young men, for allegedly stealing mobile phones and laptops.
The four male victims are: Biringa Chiadika Lordson, Year Two, Theatre Arts, U2010/1805036; Ugonna Kelechi Obuzor, Year Two, Geology, U2010/5565149 and Mike Lloyd Toku, Year Two, Civil Engineering, U2010/3010094.
The fourth person, Tekena Erikena, who earlier did Basic Studies at UNIPORT, according to Ajienka, was yet to be formally identified as a student of the university. Information on his proper identity is to be made available to the public, once his status was confirmed, he said.
The vice-chancellor spoke of how on Friday morning, the authorities of the Federal Government-owned institution received the news that four persons had been lynched at Omuokiri village in Aluu Clan, which he said was about three kilometres from the university’s main campus.
The vice chancellor pointed out that no university all over the world, had provides hostel accommodation for all its students, except the new private universities, noting that with UNIPORT’s 30,000 students’ population, providing accommodation for all on campus was not possible.
He said, initially, each student was paying N2,090 per bed space in the university’s hostels, which was being sold for N30,000, making the authorities to later increase the cost of bed space to N15,000, stressing that private investors would have assisted in building hostels, but for land challenge.
Ajienka said: “The reported lynching of the four men took place outside the jurisdiction of the university. The university is also not usually consulted by students and staff wishing to reside in any of our host communities.
“The university bears no responsibility for security outside the campus, even as it accepts the fact that students live and commute to the campus from some of its host communities, including Aluu.
“Because the incident took place outside the university, where it has no jurisdiction, it would be prejudicial to ongoing investigations for authorities of the university to issue independent statements on the issue, without cooperation from such agencies, which are in the forefront of the investigations.
“Pre-emptive security measures have been initiated by authorities of the university to secure lives and property on campus. We can confirm to you that the situation on campus is stable, as a joint security patrol team has taken charge of the affected area and is also providing security within the campus.
“We wish to use this opportunity to reassure staff, students and other stakeholders that the university remains open, very safe and discharging its core mandate of teaching, research and community service in a satisfactory manner.”
The vice-chancellor also sought the cooperation of all the stakeholders in “these difficult times”, to ensure the supremacy of truth over the rumour mill, while pleading with the security agencies to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and to unravel the exact circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident.
He lauded Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, an alumnus of UNIPORT, for his timely intervention, which he said prevented the issue from boiling over. Besides, the Vice Chancellor praised the security agencies for promptly arresting the suspects, including a traditional ruler.
Ajienka lauded the students of UNIPORT for their maturity and understanding, as well as members of the public for their concern.
He said the university would contact the families of the murdered students to sympathise with them, even as he insisted that an excellent relationship exists between the university and Aluu, as well as other host communities.
Ajienka, who also marked two years in office as the seventh vice-chancellor of UNIPORT, called on the state and the Federal governments to intervene in the land encroachment by the host communities, who, according to him, are yet to be compensated since 1975.
He said the Amaechi administration should assist in fencing the large expanse of land and the Federal Government should help the institution to compensate the original land owners for more development projects to be embarked upon.
Ajienka also said that in 1975, the yearly rent for the value of the land was N8,217. The demand for land/crop compensation by the host communities stood at N5 billion, which the vice-chancellor said the university could not afford to pay on its own.
He lamented that the university authorities could not access 52 per cent of the institution’s land; the accessible 48 per cent is being encroached on by the host communities.
The President of the Students’ Union Government of UNIPORT, Soye Maxwell Nyamabo, yesterday in Port Harcourt, also pleaded with the students to be calm and avoid any reprisal.
Nyamabo insisted that the killed students were not robbers or cultists, urging the security agencies to ensure thorough investigation.
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rivers State chapter, also yesterday decried the lynching of the students.
The main opposition party, through its Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam, described the action of the Aluu people as “wicked”, “most unnatural” and “animalistic”.
ACN said: “For the killers not to pause awhile to confirm their suspicion before recourse to on-the-spot decimation of the four students shows they are more inhuman and devilish than the robbers they claimed to be guarding against.
“It is unfortunate that this is happening in Rivers State, whose people are in the forefront of the condemnation of similar massacres of hapless innocent people in northern Nigeria by the Boko Haram insurgents.
“We wonder why the police patrol teams scattered all over strategic points around Port Harcourt metropolis and the UNIPORT axis would not be found around the scene, several hours after the incident, even when a distress call was made.
“While not holding brief for any of the parties and/or exonerating the dead from any crime alleged, nonetheless, it is most sinful and satanic to subject mere suspects to the kind of torture and excruciating death as done to these students.
“We condemn it in its entirely and call for a full scale investigation into the incident and plead that this case should not just be handled as one of such cases, as was the case in the past. The lives and future of these students cut short in their prime and sent to their early graves must not be in vain.”
A prominent Rivers State indigene, Princewill Dike, described the incident as barbaric, gruesome, heinous, inhuman and senseless.
Dike, who is a former students’ union president of UNIPORT, said the killers must be brought to book.
Amaechi, on Sunday, at an emergency State Executive Council meeting at the Government House, Port Harcourt, ordered a thorough investigation into the stripping, killing and setting ablaze of four male students of UNIPORT.
Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), described the mob action as barbaric, sad and unfortunate, warning against lawlessness and impunity. He asked the security agencies to arrest and prosecute those involved in the dastardly act to deter others.
The Rivers police Spokesman, Ben Ugwuegbulam, on Sunday evening, confirmed the arrest of 13 persons, including a king.
Most UNIPORT students who could not secure accommodation on the campus reside at Aluu, making the area to be thickly populated, with a lot of commercial and social activities . Aluu is off the ever-busy East-West Road, which is being dualised by the Federal Government through Setraco Construction Company.
Residents of Aluu are fleeing the ancient community to avoid indiscriminate arrest by policemen, especially of innocent persons.
Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) condemned the killing of the UNIPORT students.
In a statement yesterday, Falana said: “It is a barbaric show of shame. Once again the brutal killing of the boys has confirmed the total lack of respect for life and human dignity in the country. It is not sufficient to announce the arrest of the suspects. Nigerians should be assured of the safety of their lives. The investigation of the case should be sped up so that the suspects are brought to book without any delay. A fortnight ago, a Benin High Court found the police liable for the unlawful murder of an undergraduate of the Uthman Dan Fodio University, who was paraded without trial as a kidnapper and then executed secretly.
Last year, we got judgment in a Sagamu High Court over the killing of Mrs Funmi Abudu, who was paraded as an armed robber by the police and executed secretly. Like the police other gunmen are now on the prowl. It was Mubi last week. Now it’s Port-Harcourt. The extra-judicial killings of Nigerians by security forces have to stop. I have informed the Attorney-General of Rivers State that my law office is interested in the case. We are going to pursue the case until justice is done.”
