Adamawa State Polytechnic Shut Down over “Signing Out” party
Adamawa State Polytechnic Shut Down over “Signing Out” party
Some structures at the main campus of Adamawa State Polytechnic Yola (SPY) were set ablaze as several students were reported to have been injured as a result of beating with clubs and machete by combined forces of military personnel and police officers on students on Thursday.
It was reported that security forces who chased the students up to their hostels, used clubs and cutlasses on them thereby causing injuries to some students getting ready for examinations.
According to some eyewitnesses, the faceoff between the students started shortly after the management passed a notice banning a popular graduation campus culture “Signing Out”.
The angry students then took the celebrations outside the campus which led to gridlocks on the street opposite the campus.
Following the unrest, the Registrar, Rebecca Kinjir, issued a statement conveying management’s decision to shut-down the school.
The statement which was copied to Deans of schools, HODs, and Chief Security Officer reads, “This is to inform all staff and students that for security reason, the polytechnic is closed with immediate effect.
“Students are to vacate the hostel and school premises immediately. Students that are yet to finish examinations are to write their examinations after Easter break. Comply with the directive and give peace a chance”.
Some of the injured students said “As the students who graduated today began a similar celebration, some security forces stormed our campus at around 12:30 pm to 3 pm and began shooting into the air sporadically and chasing students all over the campus.
“We were to write examinations by 2 pm today, when all of a sudden, some security forces attacked some of us, my friends escaped but they caught me and treated me like a criminal.
“More than ten of them used the studs of their guns and clubs to crush my legs, I could not walk, and my friends had to take me to a hospital.
“What surprised me is that I did not say anything negative at them, I and my colleagues were on our way to write exams and we were not told it has been cancelled, so it was logical that we would be heading to exams halls, after all, it did not involve us, since it was about graduating students celebration, so why did they attack us?.
“We don’t know why police would just come to our campus invited by our school management and start attacking us and shooting sporadically all over the campus and scaring students away.
“Those who graduated were just celebrating and that is not a criminal activity, so bringing armed men into the campus is wicked and the state government should looks into that.
“I was in the school clinic, several students are there with various degrees of injuries and some asthmatic patients collapsed amid the confusion,” the student stated.
Adamawa State Polytechnic Shut Down over “Signing Out” party
