Staff and students of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) are counting their losses. Property worth N20 million has either been vandalized or stolen in an attack by youths from the host communities.
Fear gripped the university as members of the host communities,
mostly youths from Obinze, Ihiagwa and Eziobodo, allegedly invaded the
campus recently and left valuable school property in ruins.
Trouble started in the university following the rapid infrastructural development by the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chigozie C. Osiabaka. Sight of bulldozers clearing some portions of land for building, coupled with new classroom blocks springing up at some locations, without clearance from the local authority, incurred the wrath of the villagers, who launched a violent attack, destroying and carting away school property.
Our reporter gathered that the new structures were at roofing stage when the villagers struck. Two of the buildings were destroyed and glass windows smashed.
According to an eyewitness, the youths numbering over 1000 were armed with various dangerous weapons, ranging from matchetes, axes and local guns. It was alleged that some old women, elders and influential personalities from the host communities, instead of calling the youths to order, joined them in the destructive expedition.
Investigation by Campus Sun revealed that the youths disarmed the securitymen on duty before destroying the property. They marched to the new buildings and destroyed them, looting and vandalizing other valuable property within their reach.
One of the security men on duty, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said they escaped death by a whisker.
His words: “It is by miracle that none of us was killed that day. When those boys arrived, there were like five or more armed military police but they quickly left to avoid bloodshed as hundreds of those boys were well-armed. They surrendered all of us in security uniform and seized all our cloths; they equally made sure that no security man answered call as long as their operation lasted. “One of us” (referring to another security man) he continued “who answered a call from his family member was nearly killed as those boys alleged that he was calling the Vice Chancellor for reprisal. They dealt with him and quickly destroyed his phone as well. Our security van was equally affected before one of us miraculously saved it by driving out forcefully in the middle of the heat. It was a terrifying sight!”
Save for the timely intervention of the police and military men, the issue would have degenerated into another thing, as the news of the invasion got to the students’ hostel just as the military was in the process of repelling the villagers.
The police later arrested some villagers. When the information got to the the local communities, fresh trouble brewed as they quickly mobilized themselves with more arms and proceeded to the old registry, where students’ results and records were kept and started breaking all the glass windows. Save for the strong protectors used, they would have destroyed the archives too. They also burnt the security house close to the registry before some students dared the odds to quench the fire, leaving the building half-burnth.
Record obtained from Investment Industrial Complex Amalgamation revealed that property worth over N20m were carted away by the invaders. Some of the items include two water sumo, 35 head pans, 35 spades, water horse, 30 plastic seats, 16 plastic tables, two canopies, four trailer load of cement, 14 Alumaco frame, 10 Alumaco windows and doors, 14 sets of water tap, 23 1000 liters of GP tank, woods, electric bulbs, electric wires, lamp holders, 30 flexible wire, 18 wood table, five cement mixing machines, five bags of nails, 55 drums of paints, rods, five gas cookers, five gas cylinders, 12 block molders, two block-moulding machines, tires, diesel, motor glasses, among others.
As if these weren’t enough, many bags of cement were soaked in water by the youths.
One of the villagers, who pleaded for anonymity for fear of being arrested, blamed the Vice Chancellor for single-handedly extending the gate/fence of the institution for over 500 metres and thereby encroaching in the communities’ land. He equally told our reporter that there has been a sharing arrangement between the villagers and the FUTO management where the villagers are given some portion of the school land to farm each year as a form compensation for their lands used by the institution. According to him, the current VC reneged on this existing agreement.
But in a swift reaction to the invasion, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Zone B, described the incident as an unprovoked attack on the institution. In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Comrade Okafor Chucks, alleged that the attack was a conspiracy between the evil elders and some persons seeking for undue recognition in the institution.
Comrade Okafor also led a high powered delegation of students leaders, comprising NANS Executives, SUG President of FUTO (and his Excos), SUG President of Federal Poly Nekkede and his Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education counterpart to condemn the action.
“If any student’s result is found missing, troops of NANS foot soldiers may engage the village in a war,” the students warned.
To forestall further attack, Okafor urged the management to put up a high perimeter fence around the institution (as many parts are not yet fenced), set up a military checkpoints at all the entrances and meeting with the leaders of these communities to ensure a lasting peace deal so that the students can learn without being afraid of their host community attacks.
Trouble started in the university following the rapid infrastructural development by the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chigozie C. Osiabaka. Sight of bulldozers clearing some portions of land for building, coupled with new classroom blocks springing up at some locations, without clearance from the local authority, incurred the wrath of the villagers, who launched a violent attack, destroying and carting away school property.
Our reporter gathered that the new structures were at roofing stage when the villagers struck. Two of the buildings were destroyed and glass windows smashed.
According to an eyewitness, the youths numbering over 1000 were armed with various dangerous weapons, ranging from matchetes, axes and local guns. It was alleged that some old women, elders and influential personalities from the host communities, instead of calling the youths to order, joined them in the destructive expedition.
Investigation by Campus Sun revealed that the youths disarmed the securitymen on duty before destroying the property. They marched to the new buildings and destroyed them, looting and vandalizing other valuable property within their reach.
One of the security men on duty, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said they escaped death by a whisker.
His words: “It is by miracle that none of us was killed that day. When those boys arrived, there were like five or more armed military police but they quickly left to avoid bloodshed as hundreds of those boys were well-armed. They surrendered all of us in security uniform and seized all our cloths; they equally made sure that no security man answered call as long as their operation lasted. “One of us” (referring to another security man) he continued “who answered a call from his family member was nearly killed as those boys alleged that he was calling the Vice Chancellor for reprisal. They dealt with him and quickly destroyed his phone as well. Our security van was equally affected before one of us miraculously saved it by driving out forcefully in the middle of the heat. It was a terrifying sight!”
Save for the timely intervention of the police and military men, the issue would have degenerated into another thing, as the news of the invasion got to the students’ hostel just as the military was in the process of repelling the villagers.
The police later arrested some villagers. When the information got to the the local communities, fresh trouble brewed as they quickly mobilized themselves with more arms and proceeded to the old registry, where students’ results and records were kept and started breaking all the glass windows. Save for the strong protectors used, they would have destroyed the archives too. They also burnt the security house close to the registry before some students dared the odds to quench the fire, leaving the building half-burnth.
Record obtained from Investment Industrial Complex Amalgamation revealed that property worth over N20m were carted away by the invaders. Some of the items include two water sumo, 35 head pans, 35 spades, water horse, 30 plastic seats, 16 plastic tables, two canopies, four trailer load of cement, 14 Alumaco frame, 10 Alumaco windows and doors, 14 sets of water tap, 23 1000 liters of GP tank, woods, electric bulbs, electric wires, lamp holders, 30 flexible wire, 18 wood table, five cement mixing machines, five bags of nails, 55 drums of paints, rods, five gas cookers, five gas cylinders, 12 block molders, two block-moulding machines, tires, diesel, motor glasses, among others.
As if these weren’t enough, many bags of cement were soaked in water by the youths.
One of the villagers, who pleaded for anonymity for fear of being arrested, blamed the Vice Chancellor for single-handedly extending the gate/fence of the institution for over 500 metres and thereby encroaching in the communities’ land. He equally told our reporter that there has been a sharing arrangement between the villagers and the FUTO management where the villagers are given some portion of the school land to farm each year as a form compensation for their lands used by the institution. According to him, the current VC reneged on this existing agreement.
But in a swift reaction to the invasion, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Zone B, described the incident as an unprovoked attack on the institution. In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Comrade Okafor Chucks, alleged that the attack was a conspiracy between the evil elders and some persons seeking for undue recognition in the institution.
Comrade Okafor also led a high powered delegation of students leaders, comprising NANS Executives, SUG President of FUTO (and his Excos), SUG President of Federal Poly Nekkede and his Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education counterpart to condemn the action.
“If any student’s result is found missing, troops of NANS foot soldiers may engage the village in a war,” the students warned.
To forestall further attack, Okafor urged the management to put up a high perimeter fence around the institution (as many parts are not yet fenced), set up a military checkpoints at all the entrances and meeting with the leaders of these communities to ensure a lasting peace deal so that the students can learn without being afraid of their host community attacks.
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