Uniben protesters set government bus ablaze

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Protests over the demolition of 16 official quarters of the employees of University of Benin by the Edo State Government continued on Wednesday with the destruction of a government-owned transit bus by persons suspected to be students of the university.

The protesters were said to have set the ?Comrade Bus? ablaze, which they then used to barricade the Benin-Lagos Expressway, leaving motorists stranded for several hours.


Our correspondent also gathered that another bus was vandalised by the protesters.

It was, however, learnt that the protesters were dispersed by security personnel at the main entrance of the university.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joseph Edoigiawerie, said although no arrest had been made, efforts were ongoing to apprehend those responsible for the action.

Edoigiawerie said, ?Some lecturers and students of UNIBEN were protesting the demolition of the house of a former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oshodin, and some other lecturers by the state government.

?They blocked the Lagos exchange route and a Comrade Bus with registration number, ED 129 B28, was burnt and one bus with the inscription, ?ECTS,? was also seized by the protesters.

?No arrest has been made but investigation is ongoing.?

However, the UNIBEN chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has called on the state government to toe the path of the rule of law and allow court processes to be concluded before taking the law into its hand.

The chapter Chairman, Prof. Tony Monye-Emina, who made the statement, also told our correspondent on the telephone that ASUU was not aware of the violent demonstration by suspected students of the university.

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of the state, Mr. Henry Idahagbon, has vowed to resign his appointment and resort to farming if the university management could prove that it had secured a stay of execution from the court prior to the demolition.

According to a statement on Wednesday, the commissioner said none of the four respondents in the legal matter had been served any notice of the court order.

Idahagbon said, ?I also want to state categorically that if the University of Benin and their counsel are able to show proof of service of any application for stay of execution of judgment on any of the four respondents, I, Henry Idahagbon, will resign as Attorney-General of Edo State and go back to my village to farm.

?They may have filed, that I am not aware because after filing, they have to serve. It is the service of the court processes that invokes the jurisdiction of court.

?Until a party is served, the party is unknown before court and since the 16th of December when judgment was given, the case at the High Court effectively ended.?