Nasarawa varsity killings: Bring perpetrators to book, CLO tells FG

By  CHARLES KUMOLU

LAFIA—The Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, has called on the Federal Government to urgently probe the  killing of three students of Nasarwa State University by armed soldiers, with  the view to bringing the perpetrators  to book.

It also condemned the use of  armed soldiers and mobile policemen to quell the student’s peaceful protest against  the absence of water and electricity in the institution.

A statement by Messrs. Uche  Durueke and Ibuchukwu  Ezike, President and Executive Director respectively of CLO, lampooned the university  authorities  for mobilising the soldiers, who allegedly perpetrated the act.

The statement reads, ‘’We are shocked at this barbaric action of the university authorities, especially deploying military officers to employ the use of excessive force to quell civil protest by armless students. CLO recalls that similar event had occurred in Ebonyi State early this year when the students of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, protested against over 300 per cent increase in tuition and service fees by the university authorities in which CLO vehemently condemned the wickedness and called on the state government to investigate the crisis and bring culprits to book.”

‘’We urge the Federal Government including the National Assembly and the National Human Rights Commission to, as a matter of urgency, probe the use of armed military men and mobile police officers to attack and kill innocent students doing a legitimate action with the view to bringing the perpetrators and those who sent and received them to do this evil act to book.’’

‘’We believe that the major causes of these crises in our tertiary institutions are government’s insensitivity to education,” the CLO said.