A ghastly motor accident occurred on Thursday morning along the Ikot-Ekpene Road in the Ikwuano Local Government area of Abia State, claiming the lives of five executive members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), including its Senate President, Donald Onukaogu.
It was gathered that the NANS leaders were heading to the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) in Akwa Ibom State where four students were said to have lost their lives during a protest.
Eyewitnesses said the official Hummer bus of the union leaders had a head-on collision with a truck somewhere at Ariam, causing the death of the five, with scores of others seriously injured.
It was gathered that the truck which was coming from Uyo rammed into the Hummer bus after it lost control on the highway.
Governor Theodore Orji, who visited the scene of the accident on Thursday, lamented the damage the accident had done to NANS, the nation and the families of those affected, describing it as irreparable.
Shortly after visiting the victims at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, where they were rushed to, the Governor said the accident “was a calamity.”
Orji cautioned drivers in the habit of over-speeding to be careful, saying many would not have lost their lives if they had maintained a low speed.
The Governor, who expressed a sense of loss, urged the union not to resort to strike in the face of misunderstanding with authorities, saying all avenues for peaceful resolution of crises must be explored.
Orji, who was conducted round the ward where he sympathised with the injured victims, was told that the accident victims, including the dead, were brought on Thursday morning.
The Governor was further told that while the corpses of the deceased had been deposited at the mortuary, the surviving ones were receiving treatment with some of them in stable condition.
Thanking the Governor for his prompt and fatherly presence, Coordinator of Zone ‘B’ of NANS, Chinonso Obasi, said the unionists would continue to be good ambassadors of students in the country and beyond.
Meanwhile, property worth millions of naira were on Thursday lost to the protest embarked upon by students of UNIUYO over the introduction of N2,000 fee for Entrepreneurial Studies, a new General Studies (GS) course for Year II undergraduates.
Besides the fee, they were also said to be protesting against non-availability of school buses to convey students, mostly of the faculties of science and engineering, from the campus in town to the main campus where they receive lectures.
The protest has led to the shutting down of the university.
Though no management staff volunteered comments on the extent of damage done to the school property, Chairman of UNIUYO branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Anyim Nwachukwu, said he was in the campus to see for himself what had happened.
“From the information I have received, some lives were lost and there is massive destruction to the university property.
“For now it is difficult to say what are the immediate and remote causes of the crisis since we are yet to receive security report on the matter, but if it was the issue of fees, how is it that offices of my colleagues were broken into and things were stolen.
“We can’t be definite about the kind of damage that occurred yesterday,” the ASUU boss said.
On what might have led to the crisis, he said, “I am not a member of management but from the information I have gleaned, it was related to transport fare for students in the faculty of science and those of engineering.”
When visited the campus, it was observed that most of the offices were either completely vandalised or burnt down.
Among the offices razed by the irate students were those of the Vice Chancellor, Comfort Ekpo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) and his counterpart in charge of Administration and a female hostel block.
Others include office of the Registrar, Edak Umondak, the block housing Academic Records and the Governing Council Affairs.
Also, the block housing Cash Office, Finance and Accounts, office of the Director of Computer Services and Portal where online registrations are carried out for students were completely vandalised and computers stolen.
More than 15 cars parked by staff who could not escape with them were smashed and some destroyed beyond repair.
Though Umondak was seen inspecting the destruction of the university property, she refused to speak to newsmen. However, she told some staff that she escaped attack by the whiskers.
The Registrar, who was whisked out of office in a car other than hers, lamented that in spite of the fact that she was duly identified to the police who came to quell the situation, the same security operatives opened fire on the vehicle as the driver sped off.
At press time on Thursday, students were seen moving personal belongings from the campuses following indefinite closure of the institution by the management.
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