STUDENTS UNREST QUASHED IN CHUKWUEMEKA ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU UNIVERSITY (COOU) IGBARIAM CAMPUS

Over sixty youths suspected to be students cult members and Okada riders disrupted the peaceful atmosphere along some major entrance leading to the Igbariam Campus of the Chief Chukwemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.

Report from a www.odogwublog.com fan stated that acting under the influence of hard drugs and alcohol, the students believed to be on a politically motivated mission demanded to see Governor Willy Obiano to influence the reduction of the school fees paid by students of the university

The protest which began early Friday Morning disrupted the traffic flow from the Enugu-Onitsha expressway to the university and the road from Ukwulu to the university

The protesters appearing in a war like mood carried inscriptions such as reduce our school fees and carried their campaign to the expressway, before being tear gassed by a team of policemen dispatched to contain their protest.

Reacting to the development, the vice chancellor of the university professor Fidelis Okafor said he made several efforts to address the demonstrators and succeeded in persuading the genuine students to go back to school, while the politically motivated students refused to give in.

According to the vice chancellor, some of the culprits were identified as members of the black axe cult group residing in the Obama Hostel in the outskirts of the university.

He recounted his experience with some of the protesters whom he said after a random sampling conducted were traced to first year students of the political science department of the university who have not matriculated, and who were operating under the influence of alcohol.

Professor Okafor wondered why the students were agitating for a reduction in school fees which were effected over three years ago without protests and noted that the issue at hand before the protest was that of registration of students.

According to the vice chancellor, the university gave students two months from November 1^st 2014 to the 31^st of December of the same year to tidy up their registration on line.

After the deadline elapsed, its increased it to another two weeks and further one week to enable the students complete their registration.

He announced that the university also extended the lecture period for the first semester yielding to the demands of the students that the time was short.

Professor Okafor reported that the atmosphere at the Uli Campus of the university was calm as students were busy paying their school fees and attending to their other needs.

In view of the situation, he urged all students to remain law abiding as disturbances have been quelled and normal academic activities in place.

He said as the situation stands, security operatives are on the alert to ensure that no further disturbances occurred.

On the welfare of the staff of the university, the VC noted with joy that the school was no longer owing any salary to its workers, but called on government to work towards increasing the university’s subvention.