Murdered LASU student: Father, students demand justice E-mail Written by Ifeanyi Okolie Saturday, 13 December 2008 FATHER of the murdered student of the Lagos State University (LASU) Mr. Abdul Azeez Thanni, students of the institution and the deceased colleagues are calling on the Nigerian Police Force to investigate the circumstances surrounding the cause of death of Bariwu Thanni. The father of the deceased in a chat told Crime Guard that all he wants is justice. “The person in question is my son and of course, you know how it feels to be greeted with news of the death of your son in a higher institution. I feel the pains even as I talk to you now.” The deceased was among the four people shot and wounded on Tuesday November 25, 2008 by a trigger-happy mobile police officer, Mr. Benjamin Olusegun who has since been tried in strict adherence to the Police Act and dismissed. He is currently detained at the Kirikiri Prisons, awaiting trial for murder. The students who were 170 in number were being conveyed in five commercial buses when they were stoped at the T- junction on Lekki roundabout for a stop- and- search by police officers who mounted road block at the area. But tragedy struck after one of the police men pulled the trigger and fired a shot into the students’ vehicle hitting four occupants. The wounded students were rushed to the General hospital Epe where two of the students who sustained minor injuries were treated and discharged while the other two whose cases were very serious were transferred to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and Lagos University Teaching Hospital respectively for intense medical care. The victims who sustained very serious injuries were identified as OguntimilehinWale, a 200 level student of Economics Education and Tanni Bariwu a 100 level student of Public Administration who later died. Spokesperson of the Students Union Government, Comrade Osho Oshuneye described the incident as “unwarranted, barbaric and un professional.” He expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged lukewarm attitude with which the management of the institution handled the issue . “When we got the news of the ugly incident, we actually waited for the University management to react immediately but they kept quiet on the matter. An average LASUITE was expecting the SUG to lead them to a protest because they were so angered that two days after the incident, the university management did not brief students on the incident. They did not even paste bulletin because it is normal for the school to issue a release on an important issue like this. But on Thursday 28 November 2008, we decided to have a peaceful protest in the school to inform the management that we are not going to accept their silence on the matter because the students that were shot were bonafide students of Lagos State University and they have all paid their school fees. “Surprisingly, after the protest, we got a letter from the school management describing our action as ‘ unkindly act targeted and calculated to bring disgrace to the university community. But they recalled the suspension when they woke up from their slumber” Continuing, Comrade Osho said, “We want to use this medium to call on the National Assembly and all stakeholders in the country to promulgate a law that will protect every Nigerian student from being assaulted by whoever including policemen. If a student does any thing wrong, he/ she should be arrested and be prosecuted in accordance with the laws of the land. In the same vein, we want the Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro to send a letter of apology to families of the victims and reward them accordingly. “Again, we want the state commissioner of Police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo to monitor the activities of policemen from SARS posted to PPL where most of our students reside because it is very close to the school. Recently some students were killed at PPL by the police though it is on record that some of the students were cultists. We appreciate their effort in chasing cultists out of PPL but the police and other vigilante groups have seized the opportunity to harass, assault and even extort money from good and innocent students”. Join discussion...

AAU spends N450m on accreditation of courses By Sebastine Ebhuomhan Published: Tuesday, 9 Dec 2008 The management of Ambrose Alli University has spent N446m to accreditate the university courses between 2006 and now. The institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dan Aigbomhan, said this during an interview with journalists in Ekpoma, Edo State. Acording to Aigbomhan, the immediate past governor of Edo State, Prof Osareimhen Osunbor, released the money after the school applied for the approval of the National Universities Commission. He added that the money ensured the full accreditation of 25 courses, bringing the total number of the school‘s fully accredited courses to 33. Aigbomhan also said seven other courses were approved on interim basis. He also said that the results of the application for 10 other courses were still being awaited by the school authorities. He said, “We now have 33 programmes on full accreditation. Seven others were also accredited on interim basis while the results for 10 other courses are being awaited.” Asked how much the accreditation costs the school, he said, “Initially, we used the N350m we received from the government. Later, we received another N96m. That is all we received from the government.” Other management officials that attended the interview session with the vice-chancellor included the deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof Anthony Omoregie, the University Librarian, Dr. E. I. Ifidon and Deputy Registrar (Information), Mr. Chris Adamaigbo. Join discussion...

Okogie’s warning on pornography By Sun News Publishing Wednesday, December 3, 2008 The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, recently expressed worries over the growing, flagrant display of pornographic materials in public places in the country. The respected clergyman, who drew attention to the development in a statement to the media, decried a situation in which law enforcement agents partake in immoral activities in some nightclubs under the guise of keeping law and order. The Archbishop urged the Federal Government to curb the activities of striptease nightclubs that are sprouting up in big cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt “so that Nigerian cities would not be turned into Sodom and Gomorrah.” We appreciate the concern of Cardinal Okogie. His warning is a timely response to the increasing reports of nightclubs where girls dance naked on stage in Lagos and some other big cities in the country. The problem of open display of pornographic magazines, books and videos, which has for long been in Nigeria, has also considerably worsened, with school age children sometimes found hawking the unwholesome items in open markets and at bus stops in Lagos. The uncontrolled display of these unwholesome items and the involvement of children and youths in the pornographic trade can only have deleterious consequences on the morals of these young ones. The unfortunate situation demands the urgent intervention of law enforcement agencies to ensure that children are not exposed to such perverse influences that could corrupt their morals. The rate of spread of pornographic materials in the country has become alarming and Okogie’s well-meaning advice is commendable. Luckily, the nation’s law books have provisions like the Pornography Act to deal with the problem of pornography. The law is still in force and should be strictly enforced to protect minors from the growing culture of unrestrained pornography and obscenity in some nightclubs that can only have unsalutory effects on the larger society. Nigerians should not mistake pornography and obscenity for modernization because the nation has absolutely nothing to gain from aping such base practices from other countries. Morals apart, Nigeria, which still largely depends on foreign aid to manage and control the spread of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is ill equipped to tackle the social and medical consequences of an explosion of sexual immorality. This base entertainment is certainly not what Nigerians need now. While we recognise the right of consenting adults to any entertainment of their choice, we advise that such unwholesome pastimes and their items of trade should be kept out of public places like bus stops and open markets that are easily accessible to children. Let the government act on Okogie’s well-intentioned advice. There should be a holistic approach to solving the problem. The law enforcement agents should enforce the nation’s pornography and obscenity laws. The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) should do more to regulate the influx and marketing of adult home videos in the country. There should be sex education for youths to teach them the dangers of unbridled sex, which pornographic materials tend to promote. The government at all levels, parents, school, traditional and religious leaders should share Okogie’s worries about the descent to vulgarity in Nigeria and be involved in the effort to curtail the trend in the country. Join discussion...