Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area was last Monday thrown into crisis as thousands of students went to the streets of Ikot Ekpene to protest the high level of insecurity and police brutality in the school and it’s sorrounding communities, declaring that students were no longer saved to conduct their academic activities without fear of intimidation and threat to life.
The protesters led by the student union president, Geoffrey George, converged at the institution’s main gate around 8:15am chanting solidarity songs and displaying placards of various inscriptions
Some of the placards read “End Police brutality now”, “protect, save, don’t abuse”, “This Extortion Must Stop” among others.
Speaking with journalists at the school entrance on Monday, George recalled how students have suffered at the hands of police and hoodlums within the community.
“Last week, there was a trending video on social media where a student of the institution was beaten and dragged on the ground by policemen.
“Students face extortion by policemen in Ikot Ekpene. We are not safe especially those students living in the communities within the school environment.
“Hoodlums snatch phones from students and even kill them. We have buried more than five students in the last one year. They were killed by thieves who broke into their houses, collected their phones and killed them while police looked the other way, ” George stated.
One of the student activists who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the protest must continue to draw government attention to the plight of students in the institution.
“The Rector called SUG Executives this morning and warned that the protest should not continue but we say no because our students are in danger.
“Nobody will stop us. We must cry out for the world to know that the police are not helping us here. Our colleagues are dying while they are busy extorting money from poor students.”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, said the state Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, has invited the student to a meeting to resolve all issues affecting them.
“The Commissioner of Police Baba Azare has invited the students to a meeting this morning. We are waiting for them to come. There would be no protest.
“Those students you saw at the school gate this morning are preparing to come for a meeting with the Police Commissioner,” John said.
