The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba has been called upon to immediately withdraw police personnel attached to VIPs across the country.
Comrade Ijegalu Felix, National President, National Association of University Students (NAUS) made this call at a World Press Conference held in Abeokuta on Sunday, believing that such move would curb the incessant attacks on tertiary institution campuses across the country.
He said: “This is view to redeploying them to our various institutions of learning to protect the lives of our students because of what use are the policemen to the VIPs if the lives of the students who are the future leaders of this country continue to be in danger.”
Comrade Ijegalu further stated: “This press conference became imperative after a successful election of the executive members of the association, held in this beautiful city of Abeokuta.
“It is also imperative for us to register our displeasure at the disturbing and incessant attacks on students of tertiary institutions in their various campuses across the nation by bandits, kidnappers and marauding criminal herdsmen.
“It is most worrisome and unfortunate that in Nigeria today, hardly will a day go by without the news of an attack on our institutions of learning, with students, lecturers and other staff members being kidnapped or killed by suspected bandits or criminal herdsmen.
“This has not only put the lives of our students in danger, but it is also destroying our already crisis ridden educational sector.
“We hereby called on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led Federal government to find lasting solutions to the insecurity challenges in the country otherwise we maybe forced to take laws into our hands.
“We also called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, to immediately withdraw police personnel attached to VIPs across the country, with a view to redeploying them to our various institutions of learning to protect the lives of our students because of what use are the policemen to the VIPs if the lives of the students who are the future leaders of this country continue to be in danger.
“Our students now live in constant fear of being kidnapped or worst still, killed in our bid to be educated. We risk our lives daily to acquire education because the government has failed woefully in doing only one job which is protecting our lives.
“Both the Federal and the State Governments must begin to take the protection of students across the country seriously, enough of the mindless killings of students and enough of the abduction of students for ransom.
“We also want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Federal government to urgently address the demands of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to avert another imminent strike.
“It is appalling and most embarrassing that, lecturers have to go on strike for them to be taken serious by the Federal government. Most disappointing is that, after three months of suspending a nine-month old strike, the government has failed to some fulfil its promises made to the union.
“This government has once again shown its ineptitude and lack of sympathy to the plights of Nigerian students who have become puns in the game of power between the government and ASUU.
“We urge the government to show commitment to reviving the education sector by addressing some, if not all of the issues raised by ASUU.”
