Posted by By Osaro Okhomina on
BENIN CITY-SECETARY to the Delta State Government (SSG), Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has explained why the state government refused to intervened in the arrest and detention of 24 indigent students of the state involved in the alleged hijack of two state government owned buses in Abuja and the violent protest over unpaid busaries in the Delta state capital.
BENIN CITY-SECETARY to the Delta State Government (SSG), Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has explained why the state government refused to intervened in the arrest and detention of 24 indigent students of the state involved in the alleged hijack of two state government owned buses in Abuja and the violent protest over unpaid busaries in the Delta state capital. He says that is because the matter is a police case.
According to the SSG, though the Police Command has the final say on the release of the affected students made of indigent students of the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma,the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and the Delta State University (DELSU),the state government was disappointed by the action of the students after an agreement was reached between them and the state government on the need to allow dialogue on the contentious issues.
Uduaghan,who addressed yesterday in Benin City Hundreds of Delta State students at the venue of the Fund raising ceremony of the College of Medical Sciences of the University of Benin(UNIBEN),said those arrested by the Delta State Police Command over their involvement in the riot that rocked Asaba but that the authority to release those involved in the hyjack of two Delta State owned buses along the Abuja road was with the National headquater of the police.
According to him, "The whole incident started with the issue of bursary and we had estimated the sum of N200million for the exercise but we discovered that there were irregularities. There were false claims that some students were bringing fake papers. We discovered that the students that made 2.0 CGPA were more than the estimated number of students budgeted for. Of course, it takes us time to do paper work on the continuation of the scholaship fund and it was last week we got the paper at the State Executive Committee".
"Unfortunately, some students hijacked two Delta Line buses and police ordered their arrest from Abuja. We told those that came to beg us to intervene that we cannot expose government to the police. And I met with the students leadership and they promised to return the vehicles but they brought only one. And they told me they were mobilizing students for a protest and I gave them fund to demobilize them. Against this agreement, they went on ranpage and one of my directors was harassed. Of course I was not in town when they were arrested but we intervened and those involved in the riot were released. Those in detention were those involved in the hijack. We sympathise with them but the final decision lies with the police".