The serenity of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) was shattered on Sunday night cum early Monday morning when some of the institution's students went on rampage for reasons that are yet to be ascertained and destroyed property worth several millions of Naira.
The students descended on the institution's Talent Discovery Centre, two cafeterias, Faculty of Engineering Laboratory, Owolabi Hall, male and female hostels, faculty buildings, security post among others.
They upturned no fewer than two cars, smashed their windscreens and those of about nine other parked vehicles just as they also destroyed doors and windows, looted shops and burnt about eight motorcycles at the institution's security post at the main gate. Sources at the ABUAD Cafeteria claimed that the sums of N8million was carted away from the office of the accountant, while it also claimed that another N2million was carted away from another office in the cafeteria. The students destroyed refrigerators, television sets, computers in the cafeteria and also in many parts of the institution and even threw one of the plasma TV sets at the swimming pool, into the pool.
They were said to have also beaten up some porters at the female and male hostels. While no particular cause could be pinpointed by witnesses as to have triggered the violence, some of the students claimed that it was caused by some students, whose argument over an issue they claimed they didn’t know, degenerated into a fight among them. They alleged that the fight attracted security men, who allegedly in a bid to bring them to calm, shot into the air to disperse the students and everything went awry from there. One of them said: “Some students were having misunderstanding and it later degenerated and the management now called the police. When they came they engaged one of the students, shocked in army camouflage. They told him to surrender the uniform and he refused.“At that point, police shot into the air and the students dispersed. Having the impression that the gunshot was targeted at them, they later regrouped and started that full-blown protest leading to serious damage."But the Head of ABUAD's Corporate Affairs, Mr Tunde Olofintila, decrying the development, said it was students with poor academic grades that went on rampage at ABUAD.
Olofintila said: “The skirmish was engineered and orchestrated by those who were not doing well academically and who are not prepared to improve on their academic performances.“But rather than continue with examination, those with low academic grades, some of who did not have clearance for the first semester and or did not register for the examination, went on rampage and in the process vandalised some property, the cost of which is being assessed."He said "Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), a 21st century modern university which places high premium on academic, learning, research and character, has rules and regulations which must be obeyed at all material times."To give vent to the all-important academic aspect of the University’s business, it is a well-known convention or culture among members of the ABUAD community that students cannot score less than 1.5 CGPA. Those who are within this unacceptable range of academic performance are therefore encouraged to do better so that they can be what the Founder, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN and Management want them to be in future, great men and women."The founder therefore goes as far as awarding cash Awards of N500,000 to those with 5.0 CGPA, N250,000 to those with 4.8 CGPA and N100,000 for those with 4.5 CGPA. It is on record that there are students who have collected this largesse for two to four years consecutively.
Meanwhile, the violence was said to have been brought under control early on Monday morning but the police and other security agents are still on the campus to maintain peace. Many arrests have been made by the police but efforts to get the Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State police command, Mr Alberto Adeyemi, could not be reached for the number of arrests made so far.
Source: TribuneNG
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