A 400-level student of the University of Abuja(UniAbuja), Mr. Cyprian Igwe, who is recently rusticated by the school authority over an alleged plan to protest the proposed school fees hike, has said he is not feeling safe staying in Abuja for now because according to him his life is under threat.
Igwe, who is the Director of Social of the Students’ Union Government(SUG) of the university, and has just finished his final year examination and awaiting results, was rusticated alongside another final year student, Oladeru Samson Olamilekan, who is a Director of Sports of the students’ body, for the same alleged offense.
The school was reported to have rusticated them for allegedly inciting other students to go on protest if the school authority refused within five days to rescind its decision to increase school fees. Igwe, in an interview with Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, said he was forced by the security intelligence unit of the university to sign his rustication letter as his cell phone was allegedly seized by the security officers and released to him only after he had signed the letter.
“I would not have signed the letter, let alone collected it, because I knew I didn’t do anything wrong to justify the school’s action against me and my colleague. But I can’t leave the school without my phone so I have to sign and collected the letter. ”The Director of Sports, who was also there on invitation by the security unit, refused and insisted not to sign his own letter. So, he didn’t collect his own rustication letter, which was signed by the school deputy registrar(academic), Alkasim Umar. And we were both let out of the school compound by the security officers with a warning not to come to campus again as students.”
He said he was surprised that the school authority could take such drastic action against them without proper investigations of their alleged roles in the matter, hence his decision to post the development on his Twitter page, which attracted the public. Explaining further, Igwe told Nigerian Tribune that on Saturday, May 27, he received a text message from the same security intelligence unit of the university that he should return his rustication letter on or before Tuesday, May 30.
Nigerian Tribune obtained the SMS, which read in full: “I am directed to inform you that you should return back(sic) the letter which was given to you to the intelligence office on or before Tuesday 30 52023. Thanks.”Igwe said there was no other information up to date from the school authority outside the text message sent to him. He said that is why it is a rumor to him that the school authority had decided to change his rustication letter to a suspension letter even though, according to him, he does not deserve any of them nor any other punishment.
According to him, the text message only asked me to return the letter without stating further whether to replace it with a suspension letter or not.
“Such a message, to my understanding, is also not on any of the school’s official information outlets physically or online. I only read it as a media report,” he stressed. Igwe said even at that, he could not go to school on Tuesday as invited because, apart from not feeling well, he is also not sure about his safety.
“I need to be very careful as I don’t know what can happen to me if I just go like that. Because I will keep asking the school authority to produce the student who posted the purported communique that called for a protest (and not for a meeting as I had done) online for the public to know the truth about the matter.
On his part, Oladeru also confirmed to Nigerian Tribune in an interview that he refused to collect his own rustication letter because, according to him, he did no wrong to justify that. He, however, noted that he did not receive any official information whatsoever, including text messages from the school authority, since the day he and Igwe were let out of the campus.
He said the school might have decided not to send an SMS to him since he did not collect his own rustication letter. However, both Igwe and Oladeru asked the Federal Government and spirited Nigerians to intervene in the matter and prevail on the school authority not to punish them for what they didn’t do.
They said they didn’t deny that they suggested a meeting should be held by the generality of the students to review the proposed tuition hike but had no knowledge about the purported communique calling for a protest.
According to them, no meeting was held by the students’ union body, let alone a communique issued for students to go on protest.
They said both the student union President of the school, Emmanuel Emitayo, and the Speaker of the Students’ representative council, Muhammed Buhari, had consistently told the school authority that no meeting was held and that they had no knowledge of the purported communique issued on their names calling for a protest.
“That is why we want the school authority to be fair by doing thorough investigations concerning the source of the purported communique, as it is not emanated from me nor from the director of sports,” Igwe insisted.
