SOLDIERS ALLEGEDLY ATTACKS UNIBEN STAFF AND STUDENTS ON A VENGEFUL REPRISAL.
Written by AIGBOKHAEBHO OKHUELEIGBE on February 3, 2023
There was pandemonium everywhere for some students and staff of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in Edo State as an unspecified number of yet-to-be identified military men from the S & T Barracks Ugbowo, allegedly stormed the Ivory Tower in the wee hours of Friday in what looked like a reprisal attack.
There were scores of unarmed civilians injured and several vehicles destroyed following the alleged invasion of the institution by men of the Nigerian military who were said to be on a revenge attack following an incident that had taken place earlier on Thursday.
The alleged reprisal attack came on Friday mornin following the clash between some UNIBEN students and soldiers in the afternoon, resulting from the resistance of the students to the soldiers’ attempt to jump ATM queues on campus.
The soldiers were said to have descended heavily on a female student who they assumed was recording their ungodly act on tape. This, however, did not go down well with other civilians in the queue who attempted to mediate or intervene.
Angered by the action of the female student, the soldiers also attempted to forcefully take her to their barracks, which was resisted by a large crowd of students.
A security officer on campus, who was said to have intervened in the ensuing melee, was allegedly assaulted by the angry soldiers.
The development further led to retaliation from the angry civilians, in a viral video on social media, showed one of the soldiers on the floor overpowered and trampled upon in the ensuing pandemonium.
The soldier was eventually said to have escaped from the university campus through the fence.
It was reported tat some of the injured persons in the seeming reprisal attack were taken to the University of Benin Teaching hospital for immediate medical attention.
In a statement early Friday morning personally signed by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Lilian Salami, she said management was in discussion with the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army for amicable resolution. She said:
The Management acknowledges that these are challenging times for everyone and enjoins all to remain calm while efforts are being made to avert a re-occurrence.
Professor Salami called on the students to “constantly engage dialogue in resolving issues that concern them rather than taking to protests, at any provocation, thereby causing more injury and damage to themselves and other citizens.
