NANS Threaten Showdown Over KIlled Student

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to organise a nationwide protest over the alleged killing of some students of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) by soldiers. NANS condemned the murder of the innocent students over mere peaceful protest and declared the Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura a persona non-grata

.

Briefing newsmen in Ado Ekiti yesterday, NANS President, Yinka Gbadebo, who described the killing as senseless and barbaric, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the matter and court-martial or prosecute any soldier found to have committed the nefarious act.

The NANS leader urged Nigerian students to begin a process of civil disobedience against Governor Al-Makura in any public function across the country, until those behind the heinous crime were apprehended. The students body expressed shock over the killing of Emmanuel Buba Nyam, a 300-level Physics student and Amina Usman Usuko, a 400-level student of Department of Geography saying that soldiers deployed to the streets of Keffi on February 25, carried out the barbaric act when NSUK students were protesting over consistent power outage and lack of potable water in the institution.

NANS threatened mother of all protests, which might rock the foundation of the country, saying the students would storm the streets of Abuja on a protest to the Ministry of Defence and other 36 state capitals. Gbadebo added that NANS would take the case to International Court of Justice (ICJ), if the Federal Government failed to discipline the “trigger-happy” soldiers , who allegedly committed the offence. Gbadebo described as unconstitutional and against democratic practice, the deployment of soldiers to the streets during students protest, saying that soldiers were meant to defend the nation and protect it from external attack.

He added that soldiers could only be deployed when there was a war situation in the country not when students were protesting, saying that it was the constitutional role of policemen. Miffed by the development, NANS boss ordered all the students in the country to suspend cooperation with government at all levels pending the time the issue would be resolved. Still at a loss with the killing, NANS president queried: “Who ordered the deployment of soldiers to the scene of peaceful protest? President Jonathan or Governor Al-Makura? Were the students on a war/insurgent mission to warrant soldiers’ presence?

“If it was Alhaji Al-Makura, it means there is a lacuna somewhere that needs to be attended to because such action is illegal because only the president can deploy soldiers,” the students said. The NANS boss added: “Why were the police, whose responsibility it is to maintain peace renege in attending to the protesters instead of soldiers? Why did soldiers fire live bullets on peaceful protesters?” The NANS president said these were some of the questions they wanted answers to by the “panel of enquiry.”

THE SUN

0