The President of the Students’ Union of Moses Orshio Adasu University Makurdi (MOAUM), Comr. Akighirga Vitalis, has issued a strong and unequivocal demand for the immediate and unconditional release of students of the University arrested and detained by the Nigerian Police Force in connection with the incident surrounding the reported blockage of the convoy of the NDC Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, in Makurdi, Benue State.
Comr. Akighirga maintains that the affected students are innocent and must not be subjected to punishment, intimidation or unlawful detention for an offence they did not commit. He strongly rejects any attempt to associate innocent MOAUM students with acts of thuggery or criminality without establishing their individual involvement in the alleged incident.
The Students’ Union President stressed that MOAUM does not train, breed, harbour or encourage thugs. The University is an institution of learning, and its students are expected to pursue their academic responsibilities as peaceful and law-abiding citizens. It is therefore unacceptable, he said, for students who have not been proven to have committed any offence to remain in detention over an incident they may have had no involvement in.
Comr. Akighirga has consequently given a clear deadline of 9:00 a.m. tomorrow for the immediate release of the detained students, insisting that they must be allowed to return to their academic activities without further delay. He has also called on the entire MOAUM student body to remain calm, united and prepared to exercise their legitimate right to peaceful protest should the authorities fail to release the affected students within the stipulated time.
If the students are not released by 9:00 a.m., MOAUM students will be mobilised to come out peacefully in their numbers and demand their immediate release.
The Students’ Union leadership stated that it will not fold its arms while the rights, freedom, dignity and academic interests of MOAUM students are being undermined. “We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. We will not abandon our students,” the statement read.
The Union therefore called on the Nigerian Police Force and all relevant authorities to act immediately, uphold the rule of law and release the detained students.
