There was pandemonium at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Ugbowo main campus, with scores of unarmed civilians including students injured and several vehicles destroyed following the alleged invasion of the institution by men of the Nigerian military who were said to be on revenge attacks.
The attack came on Thursday night after the clash between some UNIBEN students and soldiers in the afternoon.
Trouble began to loom after soldiers who came into the school premises to use the ATM attempted to jump the queue.
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The soldiers allegedly told the students who had waited patiently on the queue for their turn to step aside, and ordered those who refused to lay down.
The move was met with stiff resistance by the students.
The soldiers were said to have descended heavily on a female student who they assumed was recording their ungodly act on tape.
This, however, did not go down well with other civilians in the queue who attempted to mediate or intervene.
Things, however, escalated quickly after the soldiers reportedly attempted to forcefully abduct the student to their barrack apparently to ‘deal with her’ but for the quick intervention of the school security department.
The security officers, however, met strong resistance from the soldiers who allegedly assaulted the officers including the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the University, a development which reportedly led to a mid retaliation from angry civilians.
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It was further gathered that the soldiers waited till midnight and invaded the university campus by scaling the perimeter fencing to beat up security officers on night duty, destroying several vehicles parked on campus.
Some unarmed civilians including staff on campus who were attempting to use the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) on bank road in the school premises were caught up in the ‘reprisals’ as they were also not left out.
The soldiers were said to have pounced on the civilians, leaving them with various degree of injuries.
Vehicles belonging to the institution and private individuals were also destroyed during the attack by the soldiers.
Some of the injured were taken to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for urgent medical attention.
At the time of filing this report, the University Management has appealed to staff and students to calm down and not take the law into their hands or protest over the development.
The Vice Chancellor of the University. Professor Lilian Salami, in a statement, said management was in discussion with the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army for an amicable resolution.
“The Management acknowledges that these are challenging times for everyone and wish to enjoin all to remain calm while efforts are being made to avert a re-occurrence,” she said.
Prof. Salami also called on the students to “constantly engage dialogue in resolving issues that concern them rather than taking to protests, at any provocation, thereby causing more injury and damage to themselves and other citizens.
