On Monday, thousands of students at Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic in Ikot Osurua, Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, protested the high degree of police violence and insecurity, stating that they were no longer safe.
The demonstrators, led by Geoffrey George, president of the student union, gathered at the school’s front gate at around 8:15 a.m., chanting songs of unity and holding placards with various inscriptions.
Some of the placards read “End Police brutality now”, “protect, save, don’t abuse”, “This Extortion Must Stop” among others.
Speaking with journalists at the school entrance on Monday, George recalled how students have suffered at the hands of police and hoodlums within the community.
“Last week, there was a trending video on social media where a student of the institution was beaten and dragged on the ground by policemen.
“Students face extortion by policemen in Ikot Ekpene. We are not safe especially those students living in the communities within the school environment.
“Hoodlums snatch phones from students and even kill them. We have buried more than five students in the last one year. They were killed by thieves who broke into their houses, collected their phones and killed them while police looked the other way” George stated.
One of the student activists who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the protest must continue to draw government attention to the plight of students in the institution.
“The Rector called SUG Executives this morning and warned that the protest should not continue but we say no because our students are in danger.
“Nobody will stop us. We must cry out for the world to know that the police are not helping us here. Our colleagues are dying while they are busy extorting money from poor students.”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, said the state Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, has invited the student to a meeting to resolve all issues affecting them.
“The Commissioner of Police Baba Azare has invited the students to a meeting this morning. We are waiting for them to come. There would be no protest.
“Those students you saw at the school gate this morning is preparing to come for a meeting with the Police Commissioner,” John said.
