Following the violent attack on Barrister Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party candidate for the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, the management of University of Benin, UNIBEN, has suspended the students’ union government of the institution indefinitely.
OsunDailyNG reports that Akpata was attacked by suspected political thugs at the university’s senior staff club on April 12, 2024.
It was gathered that the Labour Party’s governorship candidate was invited by the university’s senior staff club for an interactive session.
In the incident, the students’ union president was said to have led some of the students to invade the venue of the event.
It was learnt that the students allegedly demanded a halt of the event, claiming that they (students’ union) were not duly informed of the event.
The students were said to have behaved unruly at the event and in the process, rough-handled many of the staff, including a member of the Academic Staff of the Universities, ASUU, who was reportedly beaten to a pulp and eventually rushed to a hospital.
Following the incident, the management of the university set up a panel to investigate the incident with a view to unraveling the crux of the issue.
At the end of the investigation, the University’s Registrar, A.A. Bobola, announced the indefinite suspension of the students’ union in a statement on Monday April 29, 2024.
The statement reads:
“After due consideration of the report by the Management, the Vice Chancellor has approved the suspension of the University’s Students Union.
“The suspension which is indefinite, takes immediate effect, that is, from today, Monday 29th April, 2024.
“Accordingly, all officers of the Students’ Union are to handover all properties of the Union in their possession to the Dean, Students’ Affairs not later 4.00 pm on Tuesday 30 April, 2024.
“In the interim, a caretaker committee composed of representatives of faculties, schools and institutes has been approved to coordinate students’ activities during the period of suspension.
“The above directive of the Vice Chancellor is hereby communicated for the attention of the University community and compliance of the erstwhile union officers as appropriate.”
