By Gabriel Enogholase
BENIN — EDO State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole,  yesterday, reprimanded policemen in his convoy, who fired gunshots  into the air to scare away protesting students, threatening to take disciplinary action against them.

Students from five state tertiary institutions in the state took to the streets of Benin City to protest the continuous closure of their schools, following the industrial action by academic and non-academic staff of the institutions over the non-payment of salaries recently approved for higher institutions in the country by the Federal Government.

Vanguard gathered that the protesting students were drawn from College of Education, Igueben; College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi; Institute of Management and Technology, Usen; and the Institute of Continuing Education, Benin City.

Apologising to the students over the conduct of the policemen, the Governor said, “police is to help maintain law and order. We don’t want any loss of life. I don’t approve of police firing into the air. We do not want to make Edo State a police state.”

The protesting students who were earlier at  the Government House, Benin, to lodge protest, received the ears of the Governor when they barricaded the Airport Road,  where he had gone to inspect on_going projects.

The students carried placards, some with the inscriptions,  “We want to go back to school,” “Listen to the demands of our lecturers,” “No facilities in our schools,”  “We don’t want to become miscreants,” among others.

Earlier, spokesman of the protesting students, Mr. Fidelis Omobude told the Governor  that they were tired of staying at home and want to go back to school, insisting that the four weeks old strike was affecting them academically.

“We know you have led many struggles but it seems you have abandoned the education sector. We were in your office but you left us to inspect roads.”

But while addressing the students, Governor Oshiomhole said he was not informed that they were protesting in his office.