Protests over the demolition of 16 official quarters of the
employees of University of Benin by the Edo State
Government continued on Wednesday with the destruction
of a government-owned transit bus by persons suspected to
be students of the university.
The protesters were said to have set the ‘Comrade Bus’
ablaze, which they then used to barricade the Benin-Lagos
Expressway, leaving motorists stranded for several hours.
Our correspondent also gathered that another bus was
vandalised by the protesters.
It was, however, learnt that the protesters were dispersed
by security personnel at the main entrance of the university.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joseph
Edoigiawerie, said although no arrest had been made,
efforts were ongoing to apprehend those responsible for the
action.
Edoigiawerie said, “Some lecturers and students of UNIBEN
were protesting the demolition of the house of a former Vice
Chancellor, Prof. Oshodin, and some other lecturers by the
state government.
“They blocked the Lagos exchange route and a Comrade
Bus with registration number, ED 129 B28, was burnt and
one bus with the inscription, ‘ECTS,’ was also seized by the
protesters.
“No arrest has been made but investigation is ongoing.”
However, the UNIBEN chapter of the Academic Staff Union
of Universities has called on the state government to toe the
path of the rule of law and allow court processes to be
concluded before taking the law into its hand.
The chapter Chairman, Prof. Tony Monye-Emina, who made
the statement, also told our correspondent on the telephone
that ASUU was not aware of the violent demonstration by
suspected students of the university.
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for
Justice of the state, Mr. Henry Idahagbon, has vowed to
resign his appointment and resort to farming if the
university management could prove that it had secured a
stay of execution from the court prior to the demolition.
According to a statement on Wednesday, the commissioner
said none of the four respondents in the legal matter had
been served any notice of the court order.
Idahagbon said, “I also want to state categorically that if
the University of Benin and their counsel are able to show
proof of service of any application for stay of execution of
judgment on any of the four respondents, I, Henry
Idahagbon, will resign as Attorney-General of Edo State and
go back to my village to farm.
“They may have filed, that I am not aware because after
filing, they have to serve. It is the service of the court
processes that invokes the jurisdiction of court.
“Until a party is served, the party is unknown before court
and since the 16th of December when judgment was given,
the case at the High Court effectively ended.” CLICK HERE TO READ FULL AND TOUCHING NIGERIAN CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHY AND SCANDALS
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