Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has ordered the release of authentic students from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, who were remanded at Ubiaja prison after being arraigned by police.
The students allegedly participated in a violent anti-kidnapping protest in the Esan West Local Government Area of the state.
The Edo State governor also claimed that a Nigerian based in Russia sponsored the protest.
This came as students’ mothers protested their children’s ongoing imprisonment for allegedly participating in last Saturday’s violent anti-kidnapping protest.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has also decried the 52 students’ arrests and detentions, calling for their immediate release.
Rabi Braimah, whose son and friends, Yusuf Abdulrahman, Godstime Omonhe, and Nosa Destiny, were among the 52 individuals remanded, claimed they were told the state high court in Ubiaja, Esan South-East LGA, where they were remanded, did not sit.
She stated that the kids were picked up from their hostels and did not join in the demonstration.
“They told us that the court will not sit today (yesterday) and that when they start sitting, they will attend to them (detained students). My brother said he has contacted a lawyer.”
Another family member, who declined to provide his name, stated that his brother was among those jailed and that their lawyer will go from Benin City to file the requisite paperwork.
Mrs. Comfort Agbonire, Principal Registrar of the State High Court in Ubiaja, stated that they expected the police prosecutor from Benin City to formally hand over the remand documents to the court, after which lawyers representing the pupils might file their applications.
She stated that the court did not sit yesterday because it had lost two lawyers.
Meanwhile, at about 1:20 p.m. yesterday, the Commissioner for Education, Paddy Iyamu, accompanied by the President of the AAU Students Union, Osadebamwen Ehizioje, stated that Governor Okpebholo had asked him to coordinate with the jail authorities and release all bona fide AAU students.
He said that the Comrade Association was responsible for starting the protest, which eventually became violent.
He stated that a lot of disinformation has been spreading, particularly on social media.
He said, “I wonder how a protest will occur without the president of the Students Union Government of that particular school.
“The president was not in the school; the school is not in session, so we have a group called the Comrades Association, as it were, that co-opts students to carry out dastardly acts.
“When you are going for a peaceful protest, you carry your placard, you send the message across to the government, you comport yourself properly, you even write to the law enforcement agents intimating them of your plan, and you carry out any operation within the confines of the law. But that didn’t happen. There was no letter written to the security agencies.
“It is this group, and the people who make up this group are ex-students of the university that have graduated; some didn’t graduate, and they just hang around the school community looking for an opportunity to latch onto. We had cases where they even went to the house of the traditional ruler, went into the kitchen of the wife of the traditional ruler, took Indomie, and took the oven away.
“We are training our students to be well, to be developed both in learning and in character, and that character does not depict the average students in the state university.
“But this morning His Excellency, a man that we all love who has done a lot for the students and is still doing more for the students, has said that for all those identified as bonafide students of the AAU, we should liaise with the security agencies, and by the grace of God, they will walk home freely.”
Okpebholo labeled the protest as a “well-organized riot,” funded by a Nigerian living in Russia and others based overseas, according to a statement issued yesterday by Patrick Ebojele, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary.
Okpebholo said the people arrested in connection with the incident were apprehended while reportedly attempting to vandalize property, while others were recognized from a viral video depicting arson.
The governor stated that the arrests were based on “clear evidence,” including video recordings of violence and destruction, and that those in prison were rioters rather than peaceful protestors.
Okpebholo further stated that the incident had no connection to students or the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
The governor assured people that the situation in Ekpoma was under control and that peace and normalcy will gradually return.
He asked the public to dismiss bogus films and unsubstantiated information and to remain calm and carry out their lawful activities.
