The Police Public Relations Officer of the police at Rivers State, Ben Ugwuegbulem has confirmed to 247ureports.com that the community of Aluu has been set on fire by the students of the University of Port Harcourt [Uniport] in tandem with students from other universities.
Available information indicates that students from other institution under the aegis of National Association of Nigeria Students, NANS, joined the students at Uniport for a protest rally held on the morning of Tuesday October 9, 2012 to protest the brutal killings of Friday. The protest was peaceful. The east-west Choba road was blocked at the bridge entrance from Bayelsa State. Heavy security presence halted the students’ attempt to enter the Aluu community.
But as the protest waned and the security forces gave way, the students pounced on the community. As the students made their move to enter the community, many official within the institution made efforts to impress on the students to halt their intended entrance into the community but it was not heeded. The Vice Chancellor was said to have made an attempt but he was lampooned and thrown water bags by the irate students.
With the Vice Chancellor rescued from the scene away from the students, they began, in droves, setting ablaze all structures – houses, vehicles and the-likes – that they saw along the way into the community.
An eyewitness told our correspondent that the Aluu community was already deserted before the student arrived. “They vacated the community when the security people came to make arrests” said the eyewitness who went on to explain that the police had been making random/indiscriminate arrests of persons seen at the killer community. For this reason, the Aluu was a ghost town upon the arrival of the irate students.
The eyewitness started that it was highly unlikely for casualties to have been recorded. But a source within the student body at Uniport reveals that two persons may have been killed in today attack of Aluu community.
247ureports.com has yet to confirm the death of two persons but the police stated that the situation was “too fluid” to make definitive statements on casualties or no casualties.
