Reports: over N500m property destroyed in Rivers Poly protest
Two reports on the October 1, 2014 violent protest by students of the Rivers State Polytechnic at Bori in Khana Local Government Area, says property worth over N500 million were destroyed during the incident.
Students' elections in the school, last October, turned violent, leading to the destruction and looting of the school and private property on the campus.
Two committees were set up to with distinct mandates to take stock of what were lost in the crisis and to investigate the cause of the mayhem.
They were given three weeks to submit their reports. The chairman of the polytechnic's newly constituted Governing Council Mr Independence Enyinda said property worth over N500 million, including the vehicles of the workers, were destroyed during the protest.
Enyinda spoke at the weekend at a stakeholders' meeting he convened for student leaders' union, school management and members of the council.
They were to discuss the essence of the N20,000 surcharge imposed on the students for the destruction of the school property.
The governing council chairman said the worse hit was the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), centre, where over 250 computers, including 120 brand new laptops were stolen.
The event led to vacation of the students for two months. They were called back penultimate week and surcharged N20,000 each for the damage.
Some students have refused to pay the surcharge.
Others, including the Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), have condemned the imposition of the fee.
It described the fee as illegal, adding that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) should query the school management.
Enyinda said the students had accepted committing the crime and begged for forgiveness.
The chairman said the students pleaded to pay N10,000 penalty for the destruction.
He said: "When we heard the news, the first thing we did was to come and see things for ourselves. When we got to ICT, I shed tears.
"All the computers, the network system, were stolen; whatever they were unable to carry away, they broke or damaged beyond repairs."
He noted that "apart from the computers, parked vehicles were also damaged; window glasses were broken; the door to every office was broken and office table drawers were turned upside down. Nothing was spared: fridges, television sets and fans were stolen.
"The first day we invited the students' leadership to a meeting, they had not been told anything about the decision to make them contribute to the repair and replacement of the damaged property. They apologised for the damaged they caused and offered, on their own, to pay N10,000.
"We are not asking them to pay a levy, a surcharge or penalty. What we are asking them to do is contribute to enable them return to school. They will contribute their own; the management will also bear its own burden of restoring most of the things the students damaged."
The Rector, Obianko Nonu-Elechi, wondered why the students showed so much anger about an election that involved the state students' union election.
He expressed worry over the planned inspection by National Board Technical Education (NBTE) for accreditation of some courses of the school, stressing that nothing was left for the school to pursue that. He also feared that it would not lead to de-accreditation of other courses already accredited.
"I just wanted to add that if programmes of a school are not accredited, then we are wasting time here. infact accreditation is due here on the 18 of this month; if you say you are not ready, they will go back, then you will not run that programme again until they have done it.
"We were able to get all our programmes accredited (ND and HND), last year, we know what we did to get them. The implication of this students' action, is that if care is not taken on how it is managed, it will affect their own programmes. This is because you cannot graduate students on a programme that is not accredited and the worst thing that any School can suffer is de-accreditation.
"The implication is enamours, I don't know where we are going to begin from, I just pray that God will help this school to come out of this mess." He concluded.
In his contribution in the National President of Nigerian students, Sunday Ogbonnaya condemned the act and apologized to the council and school for the destruction.
He blamed the students for initiating a violent protest which was created the opportunity for hoodlums to loot the school properties, and promised that it would not repeat itself again.
"The purpose which brought me here in Bori is not far from the reason for this gathering. It is the imbroglio that visited this institution, which was orchestrated by students and hijacked by hoodlums.
"Sincerely, I almost shed tears when I was conducted round the premises to see the level of damage that was done during the protest. I strongly condemn the act that students could go as far as destroying their own properties."
"it is not the Rectors, or the councils' but ours, because those equipment destroyed were being used for our purpose, and on that note I make appeal to the council chairman, the Rector and other top official of the school here present that we have erred, we have misbehaved, but please reduce the amount being asked the students to pay and let also not be any deadline payment to enable every student to write their second term examination." He pleaded.
The appeal was however not granted as date of the examination due yesterday (Monday December 8, was shifted to Ending of January to give all students time to comply.
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