Govt Denies Using Security Force In Protest That Killed One Student In Kaduna
The protesting students were met with resistance by security agents who reportedly shot at them, leaving one dead and many injured.
Authorities in Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria, have denied deploying security operatives to “suppress” a student protest against tuition fee hike that left one dead.
A student of Kaduna State College of Education was killed on Monday, June 28, 2021 when security operatives tried to forcefully disperse the protesting students, according to a Daily Trust report.
The students had taken to the streets to demand reversal of the recently increased tuition by the state government.
The protesting students said they had struggled with the previous tuition that ranged between N25,000 to N33,000 and would not be able to cope with the present increment to N75,000.
They were met with resistance by joint security forces who reportedly shot at them, leaving one dead and many injured.
Samuel Aruwan, the state’s Commissioner for Internal Affairs confirmed the development in a statement.
“The Kaduna State Government is awaiting full reports on Monday’s protest by students of the Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya,” Aruwan said in the statement.
“In the preliminary report received so far, one student lost his life and some others were wounded, while three security personnel also sustained injuries.”
The commissioner denied reports that the state government deployed security operatives to use force on the protesting students.
He added that the government “was awaiting briefings to enable it to understand the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate violent incident in Gidan Waya.”
“At the time of this update, the Governor is awaiting reports from the military, police, DSS, the management of the institution, the student union as well as the traditional institution in the area.”
Condemnation
Sunday Asefon, the National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), condemned the student’s death.
Asefon blamed the state government for not taking into consideration the harsh economic realities in the country before increasing the tuition fees.
He described the increment as “insensitive, unreasonable, and unrealistic.”
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